Ordinary
by Kira michi
Summary: Kenpachi/OC No flaming, please. You'll be awesome if you don't. :D If you don't like it, then please don't read. Title was originally "World Upturned."
1. Chapter 1

**A/N** I thank anyone for reading. Much appreciated. OwO

Another story? D: K.M. what's wrong with you? I know, I know. I'm sorry. DX But I just wanted to try something different. :3

It won't seem like a funny story the first chapter, but it is. :D I only do funny stories, no serious stuff. X3

**Disclaimer** – I do not own Bleach, if I did, Juha Bach would be dead already. Seriously. Hate that guy.

**Warning** – Swearing and some things might trigger some... _things_ in people.

* * *

-:-

* * *

"—_critical condition_—"

"_I'm sorry_—"

"_NO! You help her, you help her _RIGHT NOW!"

"_Sir, please_—"

* * *

Silent, the girl left the door open, face blank and eyes cold as she watched. Her father walked into the house, setting a bag onto the counter and pulling out ingredients for food to cook tonight. He pulled out a bottle of alcohol. The seventeen year old narrowed her eyes and frowned before she slid the door closed.

He was drinking again.

It was the start of a weekend, of course he would drink.

Soon friends would start pouring through the door and they would be blasting music. She _hated_ it. She had no siblings, just her and her father. Her mother had died when she was five, car accident. Her father took it hard, and started drinking his life away.

No, that wouldn't be right.

He kept his job, but he drank _excessively_ during the weekends.

He constantly told her he loved her, but ignored her when she would ask him not to drink for one weekend. He lied. Constantly. To her face. "No, I won't drink." Liar. He's nothing but a useless drunk. She knew, otherwise. He kept his job and did he best to please her by trying to buy anything she wanted.

But she would quickly turn her back and become cold whenever he brought alcohol home.

Useless.

He's _useless_.

You're useless, dad.

Why don't you try?

She tried to keep an open mind, but the truth seemed to come out whenever he was drunk. Useless.

"Shut up, you little bitch!"

"Get away from me."

"Stupid cunt."

So she threw words back.

"Shut up, retard."

"Whatever, you dumb son of a bitch."

"Fuck you, and get lost."

She wasn't usually someone that swore, but she never cared when he was near. When he was _drunk_. He wasn't her dad when he was drunk. He was a stranger. If he cared, _why_ didn't he try getting help? She closed her mind whenever someone tried telling her that he couldn't help it, that he drank like she drank pop almost every day. Who cared?

He threw a bottle at her, one time.

It had hit the wall beside her, but it was close. When it happened she just _froze_. Her eyes went wide as she stood in place, trembling. He threw something at her. He had tried hitting her. Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill. Her father had gasped and stood up, immediately going towards her to console her. She wouldn't let him. Her eyes went cold before she curled her lip, sneering, and pushed him away when he came close.

"_I HATE YOU!_"

She had went to her room, slammed the door shut, and locked it so he wouldn't get it. He tried talking to her for a couple minutes and left. Over the week he had tried making it up to her, telling her if she wanted a new game. She didn't. "We need food." she had said. So he left it. She had started to forgive him, thinking that he may quit drinking if he had almost hurt her. _Humph... right..._

He drank the next weekend.

_Of course._

Their relationship was only strained during the weekends, but they were a loving father and daughter during the week. He often tried telling her to go out, but she wouldn't. She didn't like going out, she barely had friends. The only friends she had were ones she hung out with at school, and even then it was only three people. She was a loner, one someone could poke fun at easily, and just stayed out of the way.

_I wonder if mom thought I'd end up different._

She wasn't really... great.

She was socially crippled, alone, wasn't good at sports, wasn't good at much. Except maybe drawing. And playing the piano. She absolutely loved playing the piano. She wasn't good at it, she often messed up, but she enjoyed it immensely.

And scary movies.

She absolutely loved them.

Her anger started getting the best of her during the last couple of years. The fights got worse. They never mentioned it when he was sober, and the tension started to rise. One day, when he was sober, she suggested he should get help. Maybe if he was sober he would listen. _Right..._ He got mad, started yelling that _no, I don't need help!_ He was fine. It was just _her_ that wanted him to stop. So she said _well, yeah, why wouldn't I?! You made me hate every drunk that comes into our house!_

_No, I didn't!_

_You did!_

_Just go to your room, like you do every day!_

_I go to my room to get away from you, you useless drunk!_

**Don't **_call me that!_

_Then stop drinking!_

_It's _**not**_ that easy, now calm down and—_

_It'd be better if _**you**_ died, instead of mom!_

Slap!

They both froze.

It was the first time he ever hit her.

He tried wrapping his arms around her, but she pushed him away and walked to the door as quickly as she could. She put her shoes on and walked out without her sweater. Her protection. She ran down the stairs in shorts that reached her knees and a had a loose shirt on. Her necklace, her mother's, was around her neck safely. She didn't look back, tears streaming down her face as she walked away as fast as she could. He hit her. She could hear him calling her, telling her to come back. No. She didn't want to go back there. She was supposed to graduate and leave.

She wanted to leave so badly.

Have a normal life.

Away from _him_ and his life of drinking.

She dug in her pockets, pulling out ten dollars. She could get a bag of chips and a bottle of water.

She didn't hear the vehicle coming until it was too late.

She looked up, widening her eyes in shock when she heard tires squealing from the breaks being hit. She froze in shock. The light was red.

The one responsible drove away as fast as they could.

Leaving her on the ground.

Someone called 911, the ambulance bringing her to the hospital and bringing her to the emergency room. They had called her father, and he came rushing to the hospital. When he arrived it was to see his daughter covered in tubes and hooked up to a machine. He had cried, sitting beside her bed and holding her hand. She was unconscious.

Though she woke up during the night, starting to sob when she was in pain and that her father wasn't there.

Why should she try? She couldn't do anything. She barely had any talent. Why should she even try anymore? Her dad didn't. She just wanted the pain to stop. She wanted to sleep. She was tired... The pain would stop if she slept. She stared around the room for a moment before she closed her eyes.

And didn't open them again.

They called her death at eight-twenty eight, ten minutes after her father arrived.

Her father _screamed_.

* * *

She stared, watching as the man collapsed to his knees and held his hands over his eyes. He yelled that he was sorry, that he'll stop, that he wants her back. Tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over, running down her face. She whimpered, bottom lip trembling before she fell to her knees, as well.

"_I'm sorry! Please, God, I'm sorry!_"

"_I want to stay with dad!_"

"_I don't want to be dead!_"

She followed him when he left the hospital, and sat on the couch when he sat on the armchair and stared ahead with wide, red rimmed eyes. He grabbed the phone and dialled, holding it up to his ear and clearing his throat. He called her uncle and told him, in a choked voice, that she was dead. There was stunned silence on the other end before her uncle said he'd fly there the next day. Her dad nodded and hung up before he stood up, standing still for a moment. He turned his head, staring down the hallway before he swallowed and walked down.

His daughter followed him.

He walked to her room and opened the door, looking around before he walked in. He stared at her stuffed animal toys. He reached out and grabbed her cat, one she had when her mother was still alive. His face crumbled before he fell to his knees and started sobbing.

"_I'm sorry! I'm sorry, my baby girl_."

Tears filled her eyes once again before she sat beside him and wrapped her arms around her knees, trying to lean against him and whimpering when she found that she couldn't. They both cried for the rest of that day.

He fell asleep on her bed.

She fell asleep beside him.

She stayed during the funeral. It was weird seeing herself in a coffin. Her father tried to stay strong, but being alone, he started crying. Her uncle wrapped an arm around him and hugged him. They were both single, and her uncle said that he would find a place to live, that he would transfer. Her dad said no, he didn't need to. But he did. He found an apartment and went back to move all his things. Her father was at home, alone, sitting on the couch and watching the T.V. with hollow eyes. He could barely go through the day without crying.

She stood beside him, watching as he curled up on the couch and shook as he sobbed.

He fell asleep after crying.

She sat down next to him, staring at him and whispering to him.

"It'll be fine. Uncle will be here to help you. You'll be fine."

She talked to him whenever he would fall asleep, watching as his face would grow more relaxed. Maybe he heard her, maybe he didn't. But she felt comforted when she thought that maybe her words were getting to him.

Her uncle came back, and spent as much time as he could with her father. She stayed. She didn't know how long time had passed, five months? But her uncle brought her father to a bar, both loosening up. She found that she didn't mind. He met someone while he was there. The woman spent a lot of time with her father. They grew close. Had she still been alive she would have hated the woman. Her dad was hers alone. But she knew he needed help. Seven more months passed. His girlfriend had moved in with him.

She didn't make him get rid of her room, but she often went in there and brushed dust off of everything.

She often stayed in her room to watch.

She was nice to clean her room.

Five more month passed.

Her dad proposed.

It was a joyous time.

She smiled faintly when they planned their wedding, hesitating for a moment. She walked towards her dad and knelt beside him, reaching towards him and pretending to rest her hand on his knee. He shivered and moved his leg, but she put her hand back on his knee.

"You're happy again," She murmured, a small smile crossing her face before she looked at the T.V. and felt tears in her eyes. "...you don't need me here anymore." She reached up and rubbed her eyes, giving a wide grin. "I'm gonna go and find something to do. Maybe I'll pass on now."

Her father didn't respond.

Of course he wouldn't.

"I'll miss you," She continued to grin. "I'm sorry how I acted. I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry... _I'm sorry_..." Tears spilled over. "_I'm sorry...!_"

She stood up and walked over to the door, glancing back to stare at the couple and giving a small, sad smile before she walked through the door.

Tears had appeared in her dad's eyes, and he seemed surprised before he wiped them away.

* * *

Two months had passed before someone walked up to her.

She had been alone this entire time so she was shocked when he walked to her and smiled. Her eyes grew wide when he walked up in weird clothes and listened when he told her she was a shinigami and that it was her time to pass on. Shinigami? Did he mean a _shinigami_ shinigami? Was this guy crazy? She gave him a weird look, freezing when he pulled out a sword.

Holy crap, he's gonna kill her!

Wait, can she die again?

Before she could run and try calling for help he turned the sword and pointed the scabbard towards her. The end touched her forehead, making her widen her eyes before her eyelids slid shut.

"May you find happiness in Soul Society."

* * *

The sun shined brightly, a few birds singing as the sun rose, the sun streaming across the land.

The girl—young woman—scrunched up her face when the sun hit her face and blearily opened her eyes. She stared at the blue sky for a moment, just laying on the hard, cold ground with blank eyes and watched as the clouds rolled by blankly. She blinked a couple times and pushed herself up and looked around. Where was she? Looking down, she grabbed her shirt and looked at it for a second before she glanced around her surroundings. She pushed herself up and stood still for a moment. Where was she?

"Hey you!"

She turned, widening her eyes when someone motioned her to walk towards a line. Blinking, eyes wide, she did as he said and walked towards the group of people. A long line was in front of her, and people were already lining up behind her. Tickets were being handed out, making the woman furrow her brows and frown. It took an hour for her turn to come, and when she walked up they gave her ticket. Frowning, she held it up and stared at it.

_Time of death._

July tenth... and the year...

Eight twenty-eight in the morning.

She stared at the ticket with wide eyes, jumping when someone shoved her. She turned and scowled, seeing the big, pudgy man glare at her and point in a direction and said, "Go in that direction for ten days. And then you can do whatever you want."

She stared at him.

Walk for _ten days?_

"Here," He threw a kimono at her, which made her jump when it hit her face and grabbed it and pulled it down to stare at it. A raggedy blue kimono. "You'll get jumped if people see you wearing that." He pointed at her clothes.

She kept frowning and nodded, walking in the direction she was told to go. She didn't know why she was listening. She found a brush to hide behind and changed, smoothing out her kimono and looking around the area. Her clothes were tucked inside her kimono. She wanted to keep them. She looked down to stare at herself, holding up her arms. Tanned skin kind of clashed with blue. Grabbing a lock of her hair she held it up and stared at the dark locks. She must look ordinary. Nothing that suggested that she was one of a kind. Oh, well. She must be ugly, too. She snorted a laugh and quickly sobered.

Furrowing her eyebrows, she tried remembering what happened before and after her death.

Nothing.

"...My name is Shuya Tamura..." She murmured, closing and rubbing her head. "And my parents are..."

She didn't remember.

* * *

**Hey-Hey~! :D I'm doing a new story. O.o I know, weird.**

**Anyway, I find myself loving the time before Aizen went all "I'm betraying you all!" I just don't know what I wanna do, though. ( ;.;)**

**So I'm gonna ask you all a question! :D **

**Some years are gonna pass in the next chapter, so Tamura will be a shinigami. \\( 'w')/ Yay~! :D But I just wanted to know if I should make it after all the Bleach plot, before, or during? O.o I wanna know, so it will give me a challenge. :D **

**Anyway, this is different than my other stories. **

**And WHY?! :D**

**...There only gonna be one OC that will "fall in love" if you will. QAQ I wanna do three OC's, but as I said, I want something different and challenging... Though I'll quickly change my mind if people want me to do three OC's. XD Just kidding... maybe. X3**

**I'm sorry if some people were uncomfortable with the past, the drinking, the arguments, but these things _do_ happen in real life. Some things worse than having an alcoholic for a parent. Actually, I'm making myself sad by thinking of those things. XD **

**But enjoy~! :D **

**October's my favourite month~! X3 Scary movies and whatnot. :D**

**Oooh, oohhh! Based on Tamura's personality, which division do you think she would be suited for? :D**

**October 9, 2014**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N** I thank anyone for reading. Much appreciated. OwO

**Freya Ichigosai** – Hey! :D I remember you! OwO Thank you so much for reading. X3 I hope you enjoy~! :D

**RinaSakaki** – I know, the last Kenpachi fic I start was... When I first started. OwO I hope people enjoy this. X3 And yes, yes, there should be more Kenpachi fics. He's too awesome _not_ to have Kenpachi fics. X3  
I've already started it, and now I love the thought of one OC. OwO It'll give me a challenge. X3 I already gave her a best friend. :D And nope, definitely not eleventh division material. Thankfully I chose one.  
And no, definitely not the a girl from the 4th division. That seems to be overused. =3

**DeathKnight KiraKira** – Thank you. OuO

Heck yeah! Three reviews! :D You guys, my favorite people. X3

Holy crap, people! O.O I totally messed up on the name! Her name is _T_amura, not Kamura. *slaps face* Can't believe I messed up on something so simple.

I was thinking, "Kamura, Kamura... Camera..." O.o That's how I figured out I wrote her name wrong. XD

Anyway, the first half of this chapter is about when Tamura first joins and what happened throughout Ichigo arriving in the Soul Society and saving the day. :D Anyway, no one told me which division my OC seemed suited for, so I chose myself. X3 And I also chose which time in the Bleach plot. OwO

And I'm changing the title to **Ordinary**! :D It just seems to fit, since I used ordinary several times in this chapter. XD

I hope you enjoys. ^/w/^

**Disclaimer** – I do not own Bleach.

**Warning** – Swearing.

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-:-

* * *

Thirty-eight years had gone by...

...and she had barely aged at all.

At first, she had thought, "Holy crap, I've discovered a way to stay young!"

Then after talking to a few people, while awkwardly standing about and attempting to make a conversation, she found out that no, she did not discover everlasting youth. Apparently she was in the Soul Society. A place where souls departed from the World of the Living, souls that could never go hungry and didn't have to worry about "hollows". Things that she never saw yet. Unfortunately, a few months after she arrived she found that, yes, she was going hungry. Those bastards lied to her! She wandered from village to village, growing more and more hungry and weak.

After arriving in one village all her strength just left her and she collapsed.

She woke up when someone started shaking her and opened her eyes, seeing someone staring at her with worry and asking if she was hungry. She could only nod. The man was nice enough to buy her food and water, but he said that was all he could do for her. She was grateful. She scarfed down the food and drank only sips from her water. She knew now that she shouldn't chug it all. She thanked him, bowed down and everything. She was too grateful to be awkward. All he did was smile and tell her to go to a place called Shino academy.

Shino what?

She asked him what was that place. He had told her it's a place where souls could go train to become shinigami. He then pointed at the place where she often stared at in curiosity and said it was called the Seireitei. If she went there she would never have to worry about going hungry. So, she said, "Hell yeah I'm going!"

The thing he forgot to mention was that she needed to take a test before going through the academy. She failed a total of _four times _before she was finally admitted. And some nobles—she couldn't believe this place had frickin' nobles—poked fun at her and called her stupid.

She wasn't someone that stood up for herself.

Not at all.

She felt awkward when some people stared at her, sometimes openly without a care. Most people found her a little weird for being awkward—can they blame her?—so they didn't bother to talk to her during the first year. All except for one. All Tamura did was sit and watch as the students interacted with each other and become friends. That one she talked about walked from group to group and talk with a silly grin on her face. Everyone found her annoying and sneered because she was a commoner—assholes—and ignored her.

She looked sad for a moment before she looked around and spotted her sitting by her lonesome self.

She then grinned and sauntered over to her and sat beside her.

"Hi," She grinned broadly and held her hand out. "My name is Gozen Kaede."

Her response was... quiet. "Uh... my name is... Shuya Tamura." She ducked her head and looked away in annoyance—the annoyance directed at herself. Why couldn't she just be more outgoing, like this girl here?

Despite being quiet and not knowing how to respond, Kaede hung out with her a lot until she finally managed to get Tamura to come out of her shell. Which took a long time, a total of two months. Tamura had to hand it to her, Kaede didn't give up on her quietness and just continued to stay around her.

They stayed together throughout the six years at Shino academy, neither going to the advanced class. But that was fine with them. When they finally graduated, they had to glumly accept that their scores were... average. They weren't strong, they weren't intimidating, and they just annoyed some people(especially when they found out how outgoing Tamura was when she had a friend).

Now, Tamura, when she's in class, wasn't outspoken or didn't draw attention to herself.

But bring a couple of people that were intoxicated within her space and she would become the scariest person you knew.

Kaede found this out herself, along with another friend. They had walked up to Tamura, swaying and making jokes of all kinds, and tried inviting Tamura to go to a bar with them(they were sneaking to bars in the city, which they weren't allowed to do), and said they would have all kinds of fun.

All Tamura did was look at them, note their appearance and the strong stench of alcohol, and narrowed her eyes and sneered at them in disgust.

"_No, thanks._"

That cold tone managed to sober Kaede. "Wha—? Tamura, what's wron—"

"Shut up and get away from me, _drunk_." Tamura had quickly stormed away.

Which had greatly hurt Kaede and greatly confused Tamura. Kaede had went to her the next morning, not one to be deterred by Tamura's behaviour, and asked her what she did wrong. All the brunette could do was shrug and say she had no idea herself. They had speculated throughout their academy years that it might have had something to do with when she was still living. Which disturbed Tamura anytime someone said, "—when I was alive—" or "—when _you_ were alive—". Didn't people know how creepy that was?

She signed up to join the second, seventh, twelfth, or the thirteenth division. Though she quickly tried getting back her forms when Kaede informed her what Kurotsuchi Taicho did with his subordinates.

Thankfully she was denied from the twelfth.

And from the second division.

And the thirteenth.

Which left the seventh.

And since she didn't know who the Taicho was of that division she quickly went to the library to see if they had a picture of the guy or gal. When she found the book and flipped through the pages she had _froze_ and widened her eyes. This guy was _huge!_ Not something like six feet(which was tall for her), but his information said he was not seven, not eight, but over _nine_ feet tall! She quickly shut the book and went running around the academy for Kaede and quickly told her how tall this guy was. All Kaede did was widen her eyes and said... _ahem_...

"Can you imagine how big his dick is, then?"

"...Ew."

When they joined the ranks they had a ceremony, which was great. The Soutaicho was going to be there. Though when Tamura had gotten a look at the guy she had to pull a face, along with Kaede, when they saw how... _old_ he looked. They expected someone else more impressive than a wrinkly old man. After the ceremony they were left to go back to their rooms and they would go to their divisions the next day. Kaede was sad that she would be in another division, but she was thankfully accepted into the sixth division so they would only be next door to one another.

Several years had passed, and Tamura often wondered what was under Komamura Taicho's helmet. He never took it off. She never personally interacted with him, but she often cleaned his office and delivered paperwork. And since she was awkward with new people she would only mutter a shy "Hi" to the Taicho. He never said anything about it but he would nod at her tiny greeting.

He must have thought she was a sad, lil' thing.

Iba fukutaicho was... loud. He had said she needed to toughen up and learn how to fight—Zanjutsu style, of course, and patted her back(hard) and almost knocked her to the ground. Since she was one of the people who delivered paperwork for him and the Taicho he thought he would go as far as to call her "Tamura" like they were friends.

She tried telling him that, "No, I don't want to" but he wouldn't hear it.

She was only saved when the next day she went to go get the paperwork that Komamura Taicho shot up and asked, concerned, as to why she was limping and looked exhausted. All she had to say was that it was Iba fukutaicho and he ordered him that he was not allowed to force subordinates to train. Iba had looked flustered and quickly apologized to her and any he forced to train.

And because he saved her Komamura Taicho earned shy smiles from her.

It was a while(two years) until he finally saw her beaming at him brightly when she asked if he had papers to deliver.

It was quiet in the Seireitei, as usual, when word got around that someone was locked up for treason. Kaede had told her, excitedly, that it was one of the nobles. From the _Kuchiki clan_. That had them asking people in awe, or more like Kaede did the talking. Tamura just hung back and listened. Apparently, Kuchiki Rukia was locked up for giving her powers to a human. Then before they knew it the sky lit up. Something had hit the protective sphere around the Seireitei.

The next thing Tamura knew was that she was ordered to search the grounds for any Ryoka.

She ran around, even looking around the kitchens and around any shrubs.

She wasn't good at looking for things.

"Shuya, you may rest." Komamura Taicho had told her, he was familiar around her since she had grown to love and respect him. He was just amazing around people. Once, she even spotted him with his dog. He was so gentle. This man was amazing.

She thanked him and ran towards the barracks.

The next few days were a blur.

She had walked around with Kaede, patrolling, when suddenly reiatsu hit them like a wall. It knocked them to their knees as they gasped for breath, as if they had run a marathon. The stronger shinigami had looked around before they started saying it was Zaraki Taicho. They had passed out, and when they woke up they had learned that the Ryoka had _beat Zaraki Taicho_.

"This is crazy!" Kaede yelled, her short, brown hair bouncing as she shook her head and paced around the room. "He's Zaraki Taicho! He's strong as you wouldn't believe, and this Ryoka beat his ass like he was nothing!" Her wide, brown eyes made contact with her own brown irises. "I hope we never run into this monster."

Tamura blinked. "...Zaraki Taicho?" Yeah, she can guarantee that.

"No, the Ryoka!"

Oh.

Yeah, she can do that.

Kuchiki Rukia was sentenced to death.

The day it was supposed to happen she had froze and widened her eyes. Since the Taichos' were strong it was easy to sense them, and right now she could sense Komamura Taicho fighting with... Zaraki Taicho? She had turned and started running, hearing some people call after her. Before she could even make it something was happening on Sokyoku hill.

She never felt so helpless.

The end of the day, however, she learned that the Ryoka were now comrades and there were traitors.

Aizen, Ichimaru, and Tosen Taich—no... They were no longer Taichos'

Kurosaki Ichigo's name had travelled throughout the Seireitei and even in the Rukongai. This man was a legend now. The months that followed showed his strength and how much he grew after gaining the powers of a shinigami. He defeated Aizen and became a hero. Kaede was absolutely smitten with him and had said he hoped to come back to she could seduce him. All Tamura did was stare at her with wide eyes. She then had to remind her that Kurosaki Ichigo was fifteen in the World of the Living, practically a child to them, and was no longer a shinigami.

Which made Kaede pout for days.

Which brings us back to our story...

* * *

"No."

Tamura scowled, watching as Kaede's grin soon diminished before she crossed her arms. Just a couple of months had passed since the war was over and Kurosaki Ichigo was living a quiet life. Some people speculated that it wouldn't be long before he'd want to be a shinigami once again, because to them he just didn't seem to be someone who was born for a normal life. Tamura didn't know, maybe he'll become a shinigami again, maybe not. Only time would tell. Plus, she had become a little awestruck of the man. He should come back and stay here.

"But Tamura!" Kaede whined, falling to her knees and shuffling closer with a cat-like smile on her face. "You've been single this entire time I've known you! And how long did you say you've been here? Thirty something years?" She narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips together.

Kaede was... attractive, she supposed. Nothing like Matsumoto fukutaicho and those things she called breasts on her chest. Seriously, they were too big to be real. Some people had even tried convincing others that they were fake until it was proven real, in a painful way. Unfortunately no one knew how it was proven.

Her friend was slightly curvy. Her breasts weren't big, but her hips were _huge_. Tamura had little curves and her hips were no where near as big as her friend's, but a lot of people thought she was skinny as a stick. Which was fine with her. Once again, they were nothing like Matsumoto's, but still... Big hips had to be annoying. Even Kaede complained that she would accidentally walk into things and people.

"Thirty-eight," Tamura informed her, face flat while she held a pile of paperwork to her chest to deliver to the second division from Komamura Taicho. Speaking of the Taicho she had seen his face after that those Ryoka—comrades—went back to the World of the Living. She had frozen in shock when she saw him, and he lowered his face and looked away as if in shame. Before she knew it she had squealed and said, loudly, "_You're so cute~!_" He looked at her with wide eyes while she flushed and slapped herself. He's a respected Taicho, he shouldn't be called cute! And as if their roles were reversed, he had quietly thanked her. He had sounded embarrassed, which made him even more adorable. "And I don't need no man." She narrowed her eyes and nodded.

"But you need someone!" Kaede shot up to her feet and grinned broadly. "You need someone to tell you how adorable and cute you are and—Oh!" She widened her eyes and looked away with an embarrassed smile. "You're like... _that_. I didn't know." She pointed at the brunette. "You should've told me."

Tamura frowned in confusion. "Like what—?" She narrowed her eyes and scowled. "No, I'm not gay. I just don't want a boyfriend. _Why_ should I have a boyfriend?"

"So you can experience love!" Kaede twirled around her friend and grinned. "C'mon! You're cute! You can get any man you want!"

Cute. Right.

Unfortunately, for the both of them, they were often overlooked because they were "average." Ordinary. Nothing to fawn over.

"Do I need to remind you the last ten men you hooked me up with?" Tamura turned and gave her friend a glare, watching as she furrowed her brows and gave a nervous grin.

"So they drank. Who cares?!" Kaede threw her arms up and grinned. "They found you cute when I first introduced them to you!"

"And as I've told you before, I don't like people who drink."

"Yeah, you need to see someone about that," Kaede rubbed her chin and frowned, eyeing her friend speculatively. As if she was someone to study. "If I even have _one_ drink you get all huffy and glare at me like I'm something you scrape off from under your foot. It's mean, I tell you." She crossed her arms and looked away with a sniff.

"As I've said before, _Kaede_," Tamura sent her a light glare as she continued down the street. "I don't know _why_ I get irritated with people who drink. I tried figuring it out since I arrived and I have no idea." She paused and looked up before turning. "Is there a device that lets you see your life when you were alive?"

"No."

"Then we'll never know." Tamura shrugged lightly and raised her eyebrows before she continued on. "I don't want a boyfriend."

"But every guy wants a cute, lil' girlfriend!" Kaede cooed, patting her friend's cheeks with a grin before she received a glare. "C'mon, as a friend, I want you to be happy."

"I _am_ happy."

"Then look me in the eye," Tamura scowled in irritation before she turned to see Kaede pointing at her with a frown. "and _tell_ me you don't want a body to cuddle up with when you wake up in the morning."

Tamura shrugged lightly with a bewildered frown. "I could just get you to sleep over and I'll cuddle with _you_."

Kaede grimaced and shook her head. "No, thanks. The last time you 'cuddled' with me I woke up and had to wrestle with you to let me go," Apparently, Tamura, when cuddling, held on too tight. "_One_ more date! And then I'll stop!" She hid her hands behind her back and crossed her fingers. And toes, just to be safe, but let's be honest, she just curled her toes.

"..." Tamura closed her eyes and sighed loudly before she reopened them and sent her friend a flat stare. "One more. Then I'm done. And that's it! No more! If you lie to me and get me another date then I'll..." She hesitated and looked upwards in thought before she grinned evilly. "I'll tell Miyamoto you like him."

Kaede froze and widened her eyes before she scowled. "That's a low blow."

"But required."

Miyamoto Takeda was the fifth seat of the sixth division, and Kaede got all flustered and embarrassed when she was with him. Of course, someone like Tamura, who didn't know anything about loving or liking anyone, had thought she was sick and panicked and even went as far as to bring her to the fourth division. Though once she found out she had said, "Oh." She then asked why Kaede didn't tell him. That earned a long explanation why someone of Kaede's stature doesn't go up to seated officers and tell them why she likes them. Besides, he had a girlfriend. Which was said in a sad tone.

And those "dates", if they could even be called them, _every one _of those men had ordered drinks. And when she said she didn't drink that just earned her a strange stare. So, as soon as they would take a drink from a cup her attitude turned cold and she left before they knew it.

She did have a "boyfriend" when she was in the Shino academy, but that was for a friend. He had asked her(he had been a friend of Kaede's and had become a friend of hers) to act as his girlfriend to get some guys off his back and stop getting called gay. Even though he was. Of course she agreed.

Strangely, this just gained the attention of a popular student.

She found out he only wanted her attention because he thought Musashi was a loser that didn't deserve a girlfriend, so he had flirted with her. He must have been jealous of her friend. And he flirted with her without knowing her name. And since she wasn't used to this behavior she just stared at him with a strange look and always left when he came within range of her.

Sure a hell didn't stop him, even now.

Since he was in the eighth division, they would cross paths and he would get that swagger and smirk on his face and ask if she was still seeing Musashi.

That guy irritated the crap out of her.

"Fine"! Kaede threw her arms apart and shook her head. "One date! And I'll find one that doesn't drink!" She gained an evil grin, rubbing her hands together. Which freaked Tamura, but she kept that comment to herself. "Oh, seen Musashi yet? I heard he changed his hair color?" She ran a hand through hers with a grin.

Tamura blinked. Speak of the Devil. "He did? What color?"

"...Green." Kaede started cackling when she saw the look that crossed her friend's face. "Nah, he just changed it to a lighter blond."

Musashi had dirty blond hair, so why would he do that? He was good-looking, she supposed, and always had that boyish smile on his face. Maybe someone made fun of his hair. Jerks. So she had no idea why that jerk from before didn't like Musashi, maybe because of his looks.

"When will you be ready for the date of your life?!" Kaede got that deranged look in her eyes, giving a wide, evil grin and snickering.

Which freaked her the_ fuck out _whenever she got that look.

"Um..." Tamura frowned and took a step away before rubbing the back of her neck. The day was like any other, except it was now Fall and grey clouds were starting to roll in. Pretty soon it would be winter, and that would suck very much. "I dunno, when can you find one that doesn't drink? In a year?"

Kaede frowned and sent her a flat look. "Not everyone drinks, Tamura."

"And when you find one you tell me." Tamura patted her friend's arm with a grin before walking down the street.

People that don't drink... was there even such a _thing?_ It seemed that everyone she met wanted to drink. Losers. Not Kaede, though, she was still awesome. She even made an effort to stop drinking.

"_See_, it's that attitude right there that makes men shrivel up and their dicks fall off."

Crude.

So crude.

Tamura closed her eyes tightly and turned to send Kaede a glare. "Stop talking like that. It's...creepy." Not to mention embarrassing. "...And I don't make those... _things_... fall off." She murmured meekly, her face turning scarlet as she looked down.

"See?! Adorable~!" Kaede squealed before she pinched her friend's cheeks with a wide grin.

Tamura's eye twitched.

She slapped her friend's hands away and turned, walking away with a scowl. She wasn't adorable. She wasn't cute. She was one some people would rather call cold-hearted. She just didn't have patience to deal with people who drank. Thankfully, Komamura Taicho was refined and didn't drink. Not unlike Iba fukutaicho.

Her scowl grew when she first saw him drinking. The expression on her face was deadpanned, eyes slightly wide. When he saw her he greeted her heartily until she opened her mouth and practically ripped him a new one. Then she walked away without a care, even though he stood gawking after her.

She just didn't know _why_ she didn't like people that drank!

It was annoying!

Kaede continued coo at her when they walked into the second division courtyard, which gained a lot of stares. Tamura didn't like being the center of attention, so she didn't have the heart to tell her best friend that even if she did get a boyfriend she would most likely feel embarrassed if he ever got that intense look she had heard people give their loved ones. Hell, even _now_ the thought caused her face to turn red. Nobody would ever give her that look...

Well, she'll ask Kaede how it is, if she ever grows a pair and tells Takeda her feelings.

His girlfriend be damned.

Tamura had Kaede to ask someone where the office was. The first time Tamura delivered paperwork she had felt too awkward to ask someone where the office was so she had spent the day looking for the room. Only until someone noticed that she didn't belong did they finally bring her to where she wanted to go.

When they walked down the hallway towards the office they paused and blinked when they could hear voices being raised.

"For the last time, Zaraki, no!"

They both widened their eyes and gawked. Zaraki Taicho?! There?! Fuck!

While the man was looked up to by his division, he was very much looked at with fear from other people from different divisions. Themselves included.

"C'mon, Fon, just one round, an' whoever kicks whoever's ass can be indebted to them!"

"No. If you feel the need to fight, you can very well go to Kuchiki. Now get out!"

"I'll leave ya alone for good!"

"As I said, _no_. Out!"

The door slammed open, and out stalked Zaraki Taicho, looking very much intimidating in person. In a photo he looked scary, but in person... you might as well shit yourself and then piss yourself and then do it all over again. The two women widened their eyes and held their breath when he turned in their direction. They heard he could crush a person with his reiatsu alone. And that if you got in his way he would punch you just to move you. And his strength alone rivaled Komamura Taicho. And that he drank the blood of hollow's, though that may have just been a rumor. Maybe. They had also heard he was bored enough to go after the other Taichos' and even tried giving them offers. Unfortunately, no one wanted to accept.

His hair in its infamous state, with all nine spikes and the bells at the tips and that famous eye patch, he looked even taller. And intimidating, did they already mention that? Having gotten a new haori since the end of the war he also looked as impressive as ever. That angry look in his eye was enough to make them freeze and pale when he briefly glanced at them. Kaede even went as far as to try to smile at him, but it came as a grimace. Has anyone ever smiled at him and lived? They never knew. He growled lightly and sneered at them before he walked down the hallway.

And on his shoulder was his famous partner Kusajishi Yachiru, who beamed and waved at them as they went by.

As soon as he rounded the corner they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are we dead?" Kaede asked, eyes wide as she stared ahead. "Ya sure he didn't kill us an' were in the _afterlife_-afterlife?"

"...I think so." Tamura looked down at herself and nodded. "Yep, didn't piss myself. I'm proud."

"...Can't say the same for myself." Wide eyes swirled to stare at her before she grinned. "Kidding!"

"Let's just deliver this paperwork and get out of here." Tamura was still pale when she delivered the paperwork, trying to avoid looking at Soi Fon. When the war finished the woman was brave enough to go to the twelfth division to get her arm back, and from what she had heard it was _painful_. She could barely handle a paper cut. But the brave woman was determined to get her arm back and train.

Apparently everyone was disappointed in themselves that they were training as soon as the war was over in case another threat came.

Not Tamura.

Or Kaede, for that matter.

If a threat did come the Taichos' could take care of it.

Besides, they weren't what you would call... _strong_. As said before they were average at best when fighting. They could defend themselves, all right, but if they were alone... Well, then they'd be that person that would run from a fight screaming bloody murder. So, they didn't see a reason to get stronger. They weren't brave. They weren't geniuses. They weren't strong. They were... ordinary. Average. Something to look over.

And they were fine with that.

And though she didn't know it, Tamura still didn't have much skills as she did from her earlier life, other than learning how to fight and control her reiatsu. So she was glad to have Kaede as a friend, since she had skills that made her a little envious. For example, she was teaching her how to cook.

Yum.

Tonight's lesson was making Tonkatsu, deep-fried pork rolled in breadcrumbs.

Double yum.

When they walked out of the building they breathed a sigh of relief. Soi Fon, like all the other Taichos', was intimidating. Besides, she more likely knew where all the vitals in your body were. And that was a scary thought itself. Never piss off that woman.

"Just so I know, would you date someone from the eleventh?"

The question came out of nowhere that it was enough to make Tamura stop and turn to stare at her best friend with wide eyes. Her face must have been funny, because it was enough to make Kaede start cackling. Okay, it might have been funny, but did she even _hear_ herself ask that question.

"...No," Tamura pulled a face and shuddered. "Why would I _date_ someone from the eleventh division? That's gross. Did you even see any of them, they're all ugly." Especially those hair styles.

She paused when she saw Kaede stop laughing and grin before her eyes popped wide open. She was looking over her shoulder, which made her furrow her eyebrows and turn to see what she was looking at.

Zaraki Taicho.

He must have gotten lost in the building. His sense of direction was also famous, since it was well-known throughout the Seireitei that he got lost easily. He had slid the door open and had heard what she said, if that glare and sneer meant anything. Tamura widened her eyes when she saw how dark his look was.

"I-I mean..."

You know what? Screw it.

She turned and started sprinting away, with Kaede on her tail. They kept running until they thought they were safe out of harm's way and started gasping and wheezing for breath and leaned on the walls for support. Kaede blinked when Tamura turned and sent her a glare. Why was she staring at her like that?

"...What?"

"Why didn't you tell me he was behind me?!"

"I didn't know until I stopped laughing!"

"Never mind that, why ask such a stupid question?!"

"'Cause I know someone from the eleventh division!"

"No! Not now, not ever!"

"But—"

"No, let's go, he might be trying to hunt us!"

Kaede didn't argue with that thought even if it was be ridiculous, since she also thought the same and ran down the street with her friend. They heard the guy was dangerous and were taking no chances.

* * *

"You looked kinda pissed there, Boss. What happened?" Ikkaku was sitting at the bottom steps and gave a smirk when the Taicho walked down.

"Fon said no," _Again. _Kenpachi glared in the distance and practically shook in anger. Whatever technique Ichigo used had caused him to lose his powers, what made matters worse is that there was no rematch. He left without a goodbye. But he knew, Ichigo would be back. It was just a matter of _when._ "An' that little bitch that ran away pissed me off."

"Whatever for?" Yumichika turned away from examining his nails and smiled at the Taicho.

"Nothing," Like hell he would tell them. It wasn't really something to get mad about anyway. Still, everyone from his division was ugly? He scoffed lightly. Didn't they notice that Yumichika was—The thought caused him to frown. Why did Yumichika pop into his head as an attractive person. True, he was attractive, but... eh. "That bitch said all my subordinates were ugly." He frowned in thought.

Actually, she had a point.

Nothing but thugs.

"_Excuse me?_" Yumichika instantly hissed, which made the Taicho roll his eyes. Of course he had an opinion about that. "I hope they weren't talking about _me!_" He huffed and placed his hands on his hips. "Everyone else, of course, is ugly. Those two women..." He scoffed loudly as a look of disgust crossed his face. "They're _nothing_ to fawn over."

Ikkaku frowned and raised an eyebrow as he pushed himself off the step and stood. "You'll even go as far as ta insult a woman? Sheesh, no wonder women don't like ya."

Yumichika turned and gave him a frosty stare.

"Did you see them?"

A blink. "Yeah." Kind of hard to miss two terror-stricken women run by.

"Exactly! Their skin was oily, their faces plain, they looked fat, just... ugly!" Yumichika scoffed and crossed his arms to look away. "They should stay away from the eleventh division, them and their ugliness!"

Ikkaku gave him a dry stare and huffed. One compliment from them and they'll be his favorite people for a while. His vanity knew no bounds. Seriously, he doesn't really know women, but he knew enough to not insult a woman. Even behind their backs. It was like they had a sixth sense for these kind of things. It happened one time when he insulted Matsumoto, the next time he had seen her she had punched him across the face.

Never insult a woman.

It might come back to bite you in the ass.

Yachiru, still on Kenpachi's shoulder, pulled a face and tilted her head. "Ugly? They didn't look ugly. They looked... scared!" She grinned at what she thought was a good observation.

"No, no, fukutaicho, I meant their appearance was ugly."

"No, they weren't."

"They _were._"

"No."

"They were—You know what? Never mind, let's go." Yumichika, still huffing, turned and sauntered towards the exit. "Let's hope we never run into that ugly pair again."

"They're not ugly!"

"They were!"

Yachiru and Yumichika continued arguing while Kenpachi and Ikkaku shared a look. They knew what was going to happen next and they were going to make sure they saw so they could laugh. Sooner or later, if Yumichika continued to anger Yachiru, he was going to get his ass kicked.

* * *

**Great first impressions. XD**

**Anyway, if you're wondering, "What the hell? Kenpachi has spikes in his hair?" O.o It's 'cause I'm starting this right after the war ended! :D Two years before Ichigo comes back. X3**

**So they'll all retain their original look. X3 Not for Kurotsuchi, though. :( He'll still have that pharaoh look, I still love his look when he first appears. X3 Over time their appearances will change. :3 No quincy arc, though. That'll just piss my off. In case you haven't noticed... I don't like _any_ of the quincies in the quincy arc. XD**

**And I'm bummed out. :(**

**My Hunchback of Note Dame... is scratched. DX I only watched it ONCE! And that was before I went to college. I had foolishly thought my family wouldn't scratch it. I should've took it with me. DX One of my favorite movies and it's scratched... QAQ**

**It sucks.**

**October 11, 2014**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N** I thank anyone for reading. Much appreciated. OwO

**Momochan77** – I'm glad it made you laugh. :D I've always love those moments. X3 They're cliches, but still, you just gotta love them. XD

**Luafua** – I would've used the idea! :D It seemed so cool that I wish I had waited before posting the second chapter. OwO

**Guest** – Thank you very much! :D I'm glad you like it. :D

**DeathKnight KiraKira** – Thank you~! :D I had fun writing them. OwO

**Masume-sama** – Really happy that I made you laugh. :D And I already see how they're going to get interested in each other. :D I'm excited for it~! =D

**Freya Ichigosai –** Thank you. OwO Hmm... I haven't really thought about it, but we will see. :D Kaede deserves someone, too. X3 Hmm... I'm still deciding. I love the guy too much to just toss him out of the story. OwO

I got a plot developing~! :D Heck yeah! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧

And whoa! O.O You guys know that ending, Echoes by Universe? One of the Bleach ending songs? I think that's a guy singing. O.O

And you six, thank you for reviewing! :D And I also thank the people for reading. X3

**Disclaimer** – I do not own Bleach.

**Warning** – Swearing... and a little mature thing, I suppose? Nothing explicit. :D

* * *

-:-

* * *

"So you _won't_ consider the guy at the eleventh division?"

"No."

How many times did she have to say it? No! She didn't need to get scared if she saw the guy's face. There were nothing but thugs at the eleventh division, anyway. The guy might... jump her or something. Beat her up and take her money. Hah! Joke's of him! She barely _had_ any money. She had spent most of it on candy this week, anyway... Ahem...

Tamura watched carefully as Kaede prepared their food, mentally taking notes. She _had_ to stop depending on Kaede to cook for her. She's done so much for her, and she was very grateful to her. Well, except for trying to get her a boyfriend. Which was just annoying and stupid. She did not _want_ a boyfriend! She was fine on her own! Not everyone needed a man. Heck, she was fine on her own. _Not_ that she would be embarrassed to have a boyfriend... She liked being alone.

"Still cuddling your pillows?"

She scowled and sent the brunette a glare, seeing her give a wide grin. Damn. _Of course _she had to bring _that_ up. When she was alone she always cuddled with her pillows. It _might_ have been because she wanted someone beside her or she just liked hugging stuff, but Kaede just found that adorable and tended to bring that up every now and then. So what? _Other_ people didn't hug their pillows to fall asleep? _Hmph_.

Her mouth watered, watching as Kaede moved around the available kitchen to prepare their food.

"So you're _sure_ you won't consider the guy at the eleventh division?"

She shook herself out of her daze and fixed her friend a glare. "I'm _sure_. I want to _live_, thank you very much." She crossed her arms and pressed her lips together.

"This guy's fine!" Kaede spun around to grin at her and wave her hand. "Sure, he loves fighting, like any other at the eleventh, but he's a nice guy!"

"_No._"

"Just give him a chance! This'll be like a freebie! You go on one date with this guy, and if he's no good then I'll _really_ look for someone you'll eventually fall in love with." The grin on Kaede's face grew as she squirmed on spot in excitement.

Tamura's frown grew. "A freebie? No, I don't _want_ a freebie! I just want these dates to stop!" She paused and looked past her friend. "And the thing's on fire."

Kaede turned around and squawked, rushing over to the pot and trying to put out the fire. Tamura watched as she rushed around the kitchen, not doing a thing to help. Two minutes passed and the fire was finally out, the two women looking at the remains of the rice. The pork wasn't burned, thankfully, but the rice...

Tamura turned to stare at her friend in bafflement. "..._How_ did you get rice to catch fire?"

Kaede turned and sent her a glare. "Shut up and get a new pot. We're making more."

After their little hiccup they went to Kaede's room, since they were in the sixth division to cook. They passed many people, who looked at their food in envy, before finally reaching the room. Tamura was average in the height department, she supposed. She was five foot seven while Kaede was five foot eight inches. So because of this _small_ difference in height the brunette thought she should look out for Tamura. It wasn't like she was four feet tall! She can handle herself. For example, one time someone had pushed Tamura over by accident and she... Well, she didn't really do anything and got the hell out of there.

...She didn't need help _all_ the time.

Sitting down on the cushion, Tamura let out a sigh and put her plate on the table so she could eat. Kaede's room was like any other standard room in the barracks, so she folded up her futon every morning and pulled out a table to sit in the middle of the room. Not like her. Tamura just left the futon where it was and left for the day. Unless they were checking their rooms to make sure they kept it clean, then she did everything in her power to make sure it was tidy. Other than that, no, Tamura was a semi-clean freak. Semi, being that she hated seeing things dirty and cleaned them but kept her room dirty.

Her room was her sanctuary, her protection, so she kept it however she wanted it.

"Just give him a chance," Kaede decided she wanted to continue their conversation from before. The dark-skinned woman sent her a flat stare. How many times did she have to say no? A million? "C'mon, just see this guy, and if you guys make a connection then I'll leave you alone. If not, I'll look for _one_ more and then I'll stop!" She waved her arms and shook her head with a stern look on her face. "No more dates."

"...That's not one, that's _two_." Tamura wanted to point that out.

"Freebie."

"Free—" Tamura groaned and held her head with both hands before she directed an annoyed stare at her friend. Who grinned in response. "_Fine_. Just two more. And then that's it!" She scowled when the brunette started doing a happy dance somehow while still sitting down. "The things I do to make you happy."

"What would make me _happy_, Tamura," Opp, she was turning serious. Now was the time to listen. "is if I didn't have to worry about you being alone. I mean, what if I got married and had... kids?!" She waved her hand before crossing her arms and pursing her lips.

"...I thought we can't have kids—"

"For a moment just pretend we can."

Tamura blinked at the response. They _could_ have kids, yes. But that was less than five percent, out of the whole Soul Society. So the odds of Kaede becoming pregnant weren't really high. She then sighed and started thinking about the situation. If Kaede got married...

"...You would leave me behind?" Her response was small and hurt. She furrowed her brows and leaned away from the table, looking very crest-fallen.

Kaede blinked and widened her eyes. "NO! I'm just saying that if I _did_ get married, what would happen to you? What if I spent _all_ my time with my imaginary husband," She ignored her friend when she snorted in laughter. "and you had no other friends to be with you? I mean, out of all our friends you spend most of your time with me."

Tamura cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. "Well... yeah, that's because you're my best friend and I've known you the longest."

A loud squeal broke out before she was tugged into an embrace. Yeah, she should've seen this coming. Kaede got all squeal-y whenever she brought up the fact that she was Tamura's best friend. It was always too much, but as she said, she was her best friend. So she just decided to ride it out. Her face was deadpanned while Kaede rubbed her cheek against hers and grinned like she just won something of great value.

"Plus I don't think I can make other friends on my own." Tamura smirked when Kaede drew back and sent her a flat stare.

"Way to ruin the moment."

"We were having a moment?"

"_Anyway_," Kaede ignored her witty response and crossed her arms once more while the tanned skinned woman started eating. "Tamura." Op, serious again. She looked up and raised her eyebrows while her mouth was full. "I don't want to leave you alone." The brunette furrowed her brows and frowned faintly.

Tamura parted her lips and furrowed her brows before sighing and slumping her shoulders. "Fine."

"Fine _what?_" Kaede narrowed her eyes and leaned forward.

"I'll give this guy a chance." She wanted to kick herself.

"Yes!" The brunette fist pumped and gave a wicked grin, which made Tamura press her lips together and frown.

That puppy-dog look?

Well, it worked both ways.

* * *

A date. _Hmph_. Why did she need a _date? _She didn't _need_ a friggin' date. She didn't need a boyfriend! She didn't need anything!

Tamura huffed angrily, her movements aggressive as she wiped down Komamura Taicho's desk. Why did people think they needed someone? It was fine being alone. Except for those moments where there was a place on her back she couldn't scratch. So lost in her thoughts she didn't notice that Komamura had stopped working and watched as she wiped the side of his desk with a glower. He then watched as she moved away, grumbling under her breath now, and walked over to his coffee table. That, too, received the same aggressive treatment.

"Shuya," His deep voice made her jump before she looked up from her job, raising her eyebrows curiously. "Are you well?"

"Um... yes, sir," Tamura cursed herself that after all these years her voice was still quiet around the Taicho. "I'm fine." As fine as she'll ever be.

"Do you need rest?"

She blinked before smiling. "No, I'm fine, Komamura Taicho." If only everyone was like him.

How badly she wanted to hug him and his fluffiness.

Komamura watched curiously when Tamura flushed and squirmed on spot with a bright grin on her face. He tilted his head when he heard her giggling to herself and mutter 'cute' and 'fluffy'.

"Oh," Komamura watched as she looked up and raised her eyebrows. "I don't suppose you have seen Hachiro?"

Musashi?" Uh, no, sir, not today," Her pretend "boyfriend" had gone to the same division as she, and had become a seventh seat. Which was awesome. Why couldn't she get a seat? At _least_ a fifteenth seat. Then again she'd probably be put in more danger... Never mind. "Should I go look for him?"

"Please," Komamura gave a nod and watched as the woman stood up and walked towards the door. "He hasn't checked in today, so I am worried if he is ill."

Tamura looked back and frowned. Musashi was sick? Why didn't he tell her? "I'll go get him right away!"

Komamura huffed a chuckle when he saw her open the door and run down the hallway. Any moment... He watched as she came back and apologized meekly before shutting the door behind herself. He went back to work in silence, looking up to see that the rag was still on the table. She'd most likely come back to finish cleaning.

Elsewhere, Tamura walked down the hallways, on a mission to find out _why_ Musashi didn't check in. It wasn't like him. He was committed to his duty, unlike her and Kaede. She didn't really like working. She perked up when she spotted his room and started walking faster. When she came within range she grabbed the handle and slid the door open.

"Musashi, Komamura Taicho wants to know why—"

Tamura widened her eyes and froze, parting her lips before she screamed and hastily shut the door. Her entire face was flushed, holding onto the handle like her life depended on it. Legs shaky, she moved away from the door, hearing movement behind the door before it slid open. The blond stepped out and cleared his throat, his face also flushed. The woman made sure she didn't look at him, looking down the hallway with embarrassment and mortification.

"...Tell me you didn't see that." Musashi bit his lip, wide, green eyes staring at the woman pleadingly.

Shuffling on spot, she pressed her lips together and struggled to find words.

"...I know how men have sex now..."

Musashi widened his eyes before he covered his face with both hands. Oh-no. He never wanted to show her something like _this_, ever. While she was witty and never seemed to care about anything, there was a certain innocence to her. Whenever it came to sex or relationships she would shut up and blush. And he had promised himself he would never, ever let her see two people while they were in a passionate embrace. How could he have let her see this?!

"...Doesn't it hurt?"

The question came out of nowhere that it made him look at her with slightly wide eyes. "What...?"

"...Doesn't it hurt when he..." She couldn't finish, her entire face now turning scarlet before she pulled her arms behind her and looked at the floor. "Um... you can go back to..." She vaguely gestured towards his room.

"Uh...!" Musashi covered his face once more. "It's fine, Tamura, the mood is pretty much ruined now."

"It's not ruined in here!"

"Kenzo!" He turned around the glare at the door. "Just... be quiet!"

"Uh... Komamura Taicho wanted you," Tamura stared at the floor with wide eyes. He had, uh... business to get back to. "I'll just tell him you're sick."

Before he could say anything she turned and ran down the hallway, getting out of there as fast as she could before she heard anything that might embarrass her further. Musashi stared after her with wide eyes and furrowed brows, hand reaching out to her and letting out a sigh before lowering his head.

"Are we gonna finish or what?" Kenzo stuck his head out of the room and blinked with an irritated frown on his face.

Musashi turned around and sent him a glare.

"You're insatiable." Before he could say anything else Kenzo gave a wide, lecherous grin.

"Only for you, babe."

* * *

Always knock before entering someone's room now. Tamura made sure to do that when she arrived at the sixth division barracks, waiting for Kaede to answer the door while she glared down the hallway. How could she have made such a mistake? Oh, man. Now Musashi was probably mad at her because she interrupted his time with his boyfriend. What she said was true, she had always wonder how men could sleep with each other. Kaede wouldn't tell her, and even paid the people at the library to never show her books that would tell her.

Sheesh, it's not like she was a kid.

Kaede answered the door and blinked in surprise when she saw Tamura. "You knock now?"

"Yep," She scowled and narrowed her eyes. "You have a problem with that?"

The brunette blinked in surprise and held her hands up. "No, just wondered 'cause you never knocked before."

"I'll always knock now," The look in her eyes was grave when she walked into the room. "So where's this fantastic guy you were supposed to set me up with?" She scowled and glared out the window. That sentence alone made her want to hit something. Something _soft_. The last time she hit something hard she had bloody knuckles and they had hurt.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Kaede wagged her finger and gave a wide grin. "No spoiling the surprise!" She sat down at the table and smirked. "And I asked if he drank, and he said no."

Tamura, now sitting down, raised her eyebrow slightly while she frowned. "Are you sure he answered honestly? For all we know he coulda lied to you."

"Ah, c'mon, Tamura," She slammed her hands on the table—making Tamura jump and jerk back—and leaned forward with a scowl. "You'll love this guy! He makes jokes that always almost made me pee a lil'," A disgusted look crossed the tanned woman's face. "he's chivalrous, he's against domestic violence of any kind, and heck, he said he really wants to meet ya!" She gave a wide grin and bounced in her seat from excitement.

Tamura blinked and slowly frowned. "Chivalrous?" Her friend gave a nod. "Someone from the eleventh division? _Chivalrous?_" Her tone sounded highly dubious.

Kaede rolled her eyes. "Not everyone there is a thug. He's highly liked among women." She gave a broad grin.

"...Who is it?"

She swore, it was like Kaede made these men up. Or more like she made them sound like they were too good to be true. The last time she had done that her date had turned out to be a rude slob... and he drank, let's not forget that. As soon as he ordered a bottle of sake with a lecherous grin she had stood up and left without a backwards glance. She then had to threaten and complain to Kaede that she was _never_ going out with someone that seemed too full of themselves.

"Surprise!"

Tamura frowned and narrowed her eyes. "It sucks when you do that."

"But it makes it more fun," Kaede continued to grin, which made the woman sitting across from her sigh loudly. "All you have to do is go to the eleventh division at six and he'll be waiting for you."

She continued to frown before she furrowed her brows and sighed once again.

"At least try to act excited." Kaede pouted and crossed her arms.

"Don't wanna," Tamura sighed and laid her face on the table, not bothering to get up. The things she did for Kaede. She was lucky she was her best friend or she might have... done _something_. "I just want to get the date over and done with. And then I'm gonna kick your ass and laugh when it turns out the date's a bust."

Kaede frowned and sent her a flat stare. "You? Kick _my_ ass?" She barked a laugh. "When you grow another inch, maybe."

Tamura scowled. "Yeah, because that inch makes _all_ the difference in the world." She rolled her eyes and huffed.

"Kaede!" The door slid open, and in ran Musashi. His eyes were wide and he was gasping for breath. "Tamura saw me and Kenzo—" He paused when he saw said woman. "Uh..."

"Why, what were you two doing?" Kaede sent him a flat look.

Tamura scowled. Why were they talking like she wasn't even there? Talk about rude.

He shared a quick word with Kaede, both looking horrified at the fact that Tamura saw two men getting down and dirty. Tamura frowned and sent them an irritated stare. She was over it already, now that she knew that Musashi wasn't mad at her. Sheesh, it's not like they just openly stood in front of her so that she could see... their stuff... She cleared her throat and looked forward, flinching back when she saw the two staring at her with wide, horrified eyes.

"..._What?_" Tamura screwed up her face and frowned.

"Oh, you poor baby!" Kaede ran around the table and hugged her, rubbing her head and crying comically.

Tamura's eyes grew wide at the same time her eyebrows pulled together. Oh, you gotta be kidding... She scowled when she heard Musashi apologizing to her for traumatizing her. Sighing, she closed her eyes and started counting.

They'll be done soon anyway.

* * *

"You have a date?" Yumichika delicately raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

Kenpachi idly signed his name at the bottom of the form, lazily reading it over and handing it to Yachiru(who organized the papers into piles). Hey, he was doing paperwork. It seems it's true when they say there's a first for everything. Yumichika just didn't seem to notice, since he was busy talking to... Damn, what was his name? Kichirou Hisoka? Yeah. Yeah, that's it. Ikkaku didn't seem to care, the bald man watching as Kenpachi did his work in a lazy manner. It seemed he was in awe at the situation.

"Yumichika, he's _working_." Ikkaku murmured, nothing but awe in his voice.

Kenpachi frowned and sent him an irritated stare. Did he have to make it sound so damn stupid? Yumichika didn't notice, anyway.

"Yep," Hisoka grinned a boyish smile. "I'm meeting her here today at six."

The Taicho rolled his eyes when he heard the man's plans, the bells at the tips of his spikes jingling when he tilted his head. He should be doing something more fun than dating. If he wants to get laid he can just go get a whore. He snorted and read over the form. This guy wanted to transfer here 'cause he thought he was awesome—whatever. Denied.

"Kaede kept telling me that she was cute," Hisoka shrugged lightly and frowned, grey eyes staring at the fifth seat. "That's all she would tell me."

"Oh," Ikkaku turned and decided to put his ten cents into the conversation. "Let me tell you somethin' 'bout cute girls, Kichirou, they're typically shy an' meek." The other man blinked curiously. "Just keep pushin' her an' before ya know it you'll have her in bed in fifteen minutes."

"Really?" Hisoka parted his lips. Was it really that easy?

"Don't listen to him," Yumichika rolled his eyes and scoffed lightly. "If you push her to sleep with you she will _leave_ in fifteen minutes."

Hisoka had joined two years before and showed potential, which is why it often made him Ikkaku's favorite punching bag. Every once in a while he would go to the high seats of the division and talk to them. It seemed this time he wanted to talk about his "dating" troubles. Kenpachi snorted. If he wanted advice why not go to a woman? Or better yet, get the hell out of there and stop talking about useless things. Idiot.

"I figured as much," Hisoka closed his eyes and furrowed his brows with a smile. "But, uh... I have no idea how to talk to her."

"Ooooh!" Ikkaku leaned forward, standing in front of the Taicho's desk, and gave a wicked grin. "Haven't popped yer cherry yet, boy?"

Hisoka glanced at him and furrowed his brows in confusion. "Cherry?"

"Aw, c'mon, ya never heard of that expression?" Ikkaku leaned away and pulled a face, eyeing the man like he was an idiot. "Are ya a virgin, 'm asking?"

Hisako frowned and sent him a flat stare. "No. No, sir, I am not," He sighed and rubbed his head. "I came here to ask Ayesagawa-san's advice on how I should talk to this woman."

"Why so concerned?" Kenpachi finally spoke, raising an eyebrow when the man straightened up at his voice.

"Uh, Kaede said that if I make her friend mad or ruin the date then she'll..." He cleared his throat and looked away, suddenly paling. "I-It's really not worth repeating."

"Hold on, ya want _Yumichika's_ help?" Ikkaku sent the man an incredulous look, pointing at the fifth seat at the same time. "He don't know shit about women! Hell, women _hate_ him!"

"I know you don't push women to sleep with you," Yumichika sent him a glare and turned to smile at the redhead. "All you need to do is be nice, smile, and don't grope." He sent another directed glare to his friend, seeing him frown indignantly. "Just be confident tonight."

Hisoka gave a grin and nodded, giving a bow before he turned and walked towards the exit. Once he left Kenpachi went back to lazily reading the forms. Another bill for property damage, skip that one, and there was another one. Sheesh, how much were there? All the forms for property damage were set aside, and he went back to reading the forms. He frowned and looked up when he noticed the silence, quickly growing irritated when he saw both Yumichika and Ikkaku gawking at him.

"Fuck this, 'm gonna go train." He stood up and grabbed his zanpakuto, walking around the desk to head for the door. "C'mon, Yachiru."

They can gawk at something else instead of him.

"How long did that last?"

"...Uuuuhh... Ten minutes."

"Wow."

"I know, a new friggin' record."

Kenpachi frowned and glared ahead while Yachiru landed on his shoulder and pointed down the hallway with a grin.

He's going to train with those two...

...and kick their asses at the same time.

* * *

"Lets get you all prettied up~!"

Musashi blinked, watching as Tamura tried pushing Kaede away from her. Kaede wanted to put makeup on their grouchy friend, but the last time that had happened she ended up with a black eye. Which was strange. These two didn't put makeup on, so it was weird when Kaede tried putting some of that... stuff on Tamura. He widened his eyes slightly at the scene, leaning against the wall with his fingers interlaced and his hands on his stomach.

Kaede had tackled Tamura and started yelling at him to hold her arms.

"Hurry up, Musashi!"

"Wha—?"

"Hold her arms!"

"No! Don't you do it, Musashi! I'll cry if you do it! I will!" Tamura yelled, struggling to overthrow the brunette. "I'll cry murder!"

Musashi panicked, both women yelling at him at the same time, before he grabbed the dark haired woman's arms. She sent him a wide-eyed stare, betrayal shining in her eyes, before she whimpered. Oh-no. Her bottom lip trembled at the same time her eyes started shining with tears. He closed his eyes tightly. He knew those tears were fake, but whenever these two cried it just made him want to hold them and tell them everything was going to be all right.

"MURDER!"

"Shut up!"

Oh, she was going to get them back! Tamura scowled while Kaede applied the makeup, the brunette holding her head steady so she didn't mess up. If only Musashi wasn't holding her friggin' head still! Then she'd thrash and mess up the makeup! She didn't want to wear any! She didn't want to go on a date! She didn't want to do anything!

...Except maybe draw.

She continued to try and thrash, but they eventually did it. Kaede leaned back and gave a wide grin, seeing Tamura sit up and touch her face lightly with wide, teary eyes. Musashi hesitated before he rubbed the dark haired woman's head with a supportive grin. A mirror was grabbed and set in front of Tamura, who looked at her appearance and frowned in distaste. She didn't wear makeup, not that she thought about natural beauty, she just didn't like the stuff.

"...You're so lucky I'm not gonna tell Miyamoto." Tamura sent her friend a frosty stare.

Kaede widened her eyes and paled. "...Yeah... lucky..." She then grinned and leaned forward. "What do you think? You're so—"

"Ugly." Tamura pulled a face and looked away from the mirror while sticking out her tongue.

"Hey, don't be like that," Kaede sent her a stern stare before she grinned. "You look even more adorable~!"

_No, I don't._

"Your eyes stand out even more now that you have makeup on." The grin didn't disappear, though Tamura wished she could slap it off. This wasn't something to be happy over. They'd go on the date, leave each other, then she'd wash the makeup off. And kick back to read some good ol' _Seireitei Communication_, maybe there would even be something new in 'Effective Medication for the Brain'. "At least _try_ to be happy."

Tamura made a halfhearted attempt at smiling.

"...She's trying." Musashi put in, giving a small shrug and an amused smile.

"At least try to be pleasant," Kaede sent her a stern stare with her lips pressed together. "Be nice and don't be rude to him."

"...I'll be nice when I find out he doesn't drink." Tamura didn't bother to hide the cold smile that crossed her face.

Musashi sighed and reached out to rub her head. "Just try not to scare him."

"No promises."

They knew she hated these dates, so they also knew she tried everything in her power to get whoever agreed to go on the date to hate it. Goodness, it was like she was a child half the time. They also had suspicions, but they didn't care voice them. They also had to guess, based on her appearance in age, that she had died between the ages of fifteen to eighteen. Not very old, but in the Soul Society age didn't matter.

People acting like kids, however... that was another matter entirely.

"When am I supposed to leave?" Tamura gave them a flat look, crossing her arms and huffing lightly.

Before they could answer the door slid open, all three turning to see Kenzo standing at the door. As soon as Tamura saw him she went rigid and widened her eyes. And as soon as he saw her a wide smirk crossed his face. Musashi sent him a glare, silently telling him that if he said anything that would mortify Tamura—

"So, how'd you like the show?"

Dammit.

"Kenzo!" Musashi growled, standing up and walking towards the redhead and slapping his head.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Kenzo started snickering, holding up his arms to block the slaps and occasional punch. He glanced at the pair of women, seeing Kaede sending him a dark glare(for what he had said and what Tamura had seen before) and Tamura was... aww, she was blushing. "Hey, you're wearing makeup!" He grinned and sidestepped away from Musashi, walking over to the black haired woman then knelt down. "What's the occasion?"

"...A date..." Tamura murmured, glaring to the side and huffing.

"Aww, poor girl, are they making you date again?" He turned and sent the two a glare while putting his arms around the woman, and started patting her head. "Who is it this time? Bar owner? Flower shop owner? A nerd from the fourth division?"

"Someone from the eleventh."

Kenzo widened his eyes and leaned away while he held her arms. "What?!"

Tamura furrowed her eyebrows and gave him a pathetic stare, looking as if she were scared to go, a look that worked for her many times. It worked. He wrapped his arms around her once again and turned to send a glare to his boyfriend and Kaede. They blinked and frowned at his glare, sharing a look of confusion.

"I'm not letting her go." Kenzo said, not seeing the grin that crossed the black haired woman's face.

"What?!" Kaede snapped and placed her hands on her hips. "You don't have a say here, Kenzo! She agreed, and I really think this guy is good for her."

Kenzo scoffed loudly. "As if! Someone from that place is _never_ good! For all we know he could be a murderer... or a _rapist!_" He started nodding and tightened his hold. "She's not going on a date with a rapist! Kaede, I thought you cared about her!" He shook his head lightly, as if ashamed. "You disappoint me."

Kaede rubbed her face and sighed. "He's not a rapist. In fact he came from the second district, and they never have any action there."

"Don't care, she's not going on that date," Kenzo pursed his lips, shuffling away from the two evil fiends(how _dare_ they let Tamura go on a date with someone from the_ eleventh!_). "Heck, I'll go on a date with her! We'll go shopping!" He gained an excited grin and hopped up. "We'll buy some food, go skipping down the street, buy some yukatas. It'll be fun!"

"Nope! She's going on the date!" Musashi finally spoke up, stepping forward and sending his boyfriend a glare. "Now release her, Kenzo, or—"

Kenzo gave a scoff. "Or what? You'll hit me?" He looked determined on not releasing the woman.

Musashi hesitated and glanced at the two women, seeing him staring at him(Kaede with a glare and Tamura still in Kenzo's arms) before he walked over to the redhead. He then whispered in his ear, making Kenzo raise an eyebrow as he listened. He widened his eyes and rudely pushed Tamura away.

"You're on your own," Kenzo didn't react when she sent him a glare. Another friend to betray her! "Hey, my sex life is on the line here."

Tamura and Kaede turned to stare at Musashi, seeing him blush and look away while rubbing the back of his head. _What_ did he threaten him with?

"I don't wanna go." She wasn't pouting, she was just mildly brooding.

"It'll be fine, Tamura!" Kaede gave an encouraging grin, along with Musashi. Kenzo, however, looked incredibly dubious. But he gave a thumbs up and a grin. "Just remember... smile." Tamura frowned in confusion. "You're adorable when you smile, so just smile~!"

Tamura did the opposite and frowned.

"Good enough."

Soon she was walking down the hallway with a frown plastered on her face, her three traitorous friends waving after her with such wide smile it made her want to throw something at them.

This date was going to suck.

* * *

**OH, MY GOD! XD**

**I made myself laugh before, when I was trying to think of a name for Tamura's date. XD I was just thinking to myself, and thought, "Maki-Maki." Then the thought of Maki-Maki and Tamura going on a date had me laughing so hard I couldn't breathe for a moment. XD**

**Some of you may not like him... but I absolutely love Kenzo. XD He just popped out of nowhere. O.o The story wrote itself for a while and he popped into the story like that. XD**

**Anyway, I learned something before...**

**Males = Brunet, Blond**

**Females = Brunette, Blonde**

**Never knew that before. OwO**

**October 13, 2014**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N** I thank anyone for reading. Much appreciated. OwO

**DeathKnight KiraKira** – I love that scene. XD And it just popped into my head randomly, but thankfully she doesn't have a date with him. XD

**Freya Ichigosai** – Yeah, I have to agree that I made them overdo it, but it was all for the plot. X3 Don't worry, Kenzo will set it straight. :D And I absolutely love Komamura. X3

**The Phoenix Wraith** – Yeah, I never knew the difference either. OwO It's great to know now. X3

**Guest** – Thank you! :D

**Momochan77** – They prevent Tamura from seeing a lot, so just writing that gave me lots of joy. XD And Komamura is too adorable to _not_ want to cuddle. X3

**RinaSakaki** – I know, I'm already in love with him. X3

**Masume-sama** – Their reaction isn't really that big, but I'm going to have fun with them. OwO

**A fan** – My favorite scene. X3

**Lilikoikoi** – Oh, my god, that is the cutest name ever. OwO And thank you. :D

**pheonix1998** – I did it! :D

I'm sorry I took so long to update. QAQ

Watch Ghost by Mystery Skulls, animated. O.O Go do it now.

You know what? This date that she's supposed to go on completely stopped me from writing. O.O I don't know _how_ to write dates. XD So I powered through it. It may suck, but... yeah. OwO

OH! I also have this problem, with the story. O_O I was thinking it through, I now have a plot(hold your applause), and I just had to say "_STOP!_" D: If I'm right, then the attraction would start too soon. Like what I did in my first story, which I've hated myself for ever since. DX 'Cause it started too soon, so I spent all this time thinking through it and it started _waaaay _too soon for my liking.

But I think I've done it! :D

**Disclaimer** – I do not own Bleach.

**Warning** – Swearing and... Tamura verbally abusing someone. DX

* * *

-:-

* * *

"Where're you going?"

Musashi and Kaede blinked in confusion when they saw Kenzo walk down the hallway quickly. They were just about to laze around in the room when he had walked away. He looked back at them and narrowed his eyes with a scowl, looking very pissed off. Crossing his arms, Kenzo turned to face them and pursed his lips.

"What's it look like I'm doing?" Kenzo rolled his eyes and scoffed. "'M gonna go follow her and make sure this _date_ goes off without a hitch."

"What?" Musashi widened his eyes and soon fixed the redhead a glare. "Are you sure you should _really_ be doing that?"

"Yes!" Kenzo held his hands out and gave the two an incredulous stare. "You guys pressured her into going on a date with someone from the _eleventh!_ If you think I'm gonna sit around while she goes on a date with a stranger then you're idiots. I'll tell ya how it goes." He turned and started walking away with a bounce in his step.

"...Should we follow?" Kaede asked, furrowing her brows in confusion and concern.

"No, if the three of us follow there's more of a chance she'll notice us," Musashi sighed and closed his eyes while he crossed his arms. "No more dates, Kaede."

Kaede turned and gave a small frown. "What?" She furrowed her brows in confusion. Didn't he want Tamura to...?

"I know you don't want her to end up alone, but... she's self-conscious, she believes no one will ever love her, and to be frank," Musashi furrowed his brows and gave a deep sigh. "I think she's scared if she'll ever find out what liking someone will be like. Romantic wise, I mean. I don't think she likes _us_ anymore." He sent his friend a flat look.

"But..." Kaede furrowed her brows. "Don't you ever notice the look on her face when she sees a couple?"

Musashi blinked. "No?"

"She just gets this wistful... _stare_... and she watches the couple for a few seconds and then goes back to whatever she was doing," Kaede rubbed her eyes with both hands and gave a deep sigh. She was pushy. But if they pushed anymore... "Fine. This is the last date I'll ever set her on."

The blond gave a warm smile. "Good," He paused and narrowed his eyes. "Your fingers better not be crossed."

Kaede glanced at him and grinned sheepishly, pulling out her crossed fingers out from behind.

Musashi gave her a flat stare and rolled his eyes.

* * *

Tamura walked down the street as slowly as she could. If she shows up late who knows how the guy would react? Maybe it'll tell him she didn't want to go on the date. And then she could leave early and read _Seireitei Communication_. Or she could try to find a game to play. Or she could try to find new friends and spend time with them and then get it into their heads that she had no desire to go dating! Stopping at a fork in the road she was silent for a moment before turning to the left. Nah, she couldn't make friends. She didn't have the confidence to make new friends.

Unless they were as quiet as her, then yeah.

Or... No, she didn't have the confidence to make friends.

If it wasn't for Kaede she wouldn't have met Musashi. And if it wasn't for Musashi she wouldn't have met Kenzo.

And unfortunately, earlier that day she saw more than she wanted of those two.

While they were... 'busy.'

Her face flushed red as she walked down the street, clearing her throat and keeping her head down when a couple people walked by. She never wanted to see anything like that ever again. Throwing the thought out of her head she continued on, face blank and irritation high. What she wouldn't give to just lay back and relax. Maybe try to talk to Komamura Taicho. The thought of him caused a smile to cross her face.

She was glad she was denied from the other divisions. Which was sad, but hey, at least she wouldn't need to practice Ho Ho like crazy to be worthy of the second division.

Now, back to the topic at hand.

_Dates..._

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. People took one look at her, noticed how plain she was, and lost interest and just tried to stay nice. She wasn't a keeper. The first date she had gone on she was blushing and nervous. But she saw that look that crossed the guy's face. He looked disappointed and uninterested but he made conversation.

Tamura was observant.

She didn't know where she got it, but it was easy to spot someone that was drinking by looking closely at them. Quiet people tend to notice more things than others, that's what she heard. She didn't think it was true, of course, until she started noticing expressions on peoples faces. Intoxicated people, who knew her, tried to play off as casual, but something always struck her as wrong. As soon as she would find out they were drunk she would grow cold.

Why she was like this... she had no clue. She just wanted to be comfortable with them, but she couldn't. It was hard. Maybe someday in the future she'll even try to drink herself.

She gave a snort.

Yeah, right.

Pausing, she raised her head and frowned before whipping around and staring in the distance. It felt like... Nah, it was nothing. Pursing her lips, she gave a small hum before continuing on. Maybe the thought of going to a dangerous place was making her paranoid.

Elsewhere, Kenzo sighed deeply in relief, pressed against the wall of the building. She was getting better at sensing, he'll give her that. Peeking around the corner he had to smirk when he saw her kick the ground before she tripped and stumbled.

Aww, she was going on a date.

Too bad she didn't want to go on it.

Tamura looked up in despair at the symbol of the eleventh division, furrowing her brows and giving another deep sigh. She didn't want to go in. No, she didn't want to be anywhere near this place. She'd rather jump in a cesspool... No, she'd rather go home. No cesspool. Maybe take a bath and relax. Oooh, and get something to eat. Maybe she can leave now? No, she'd be considered rude if she left right now.

She didn't want to be thought of as rude.

Feeling as if she were walking into Hell, or somewhere just as horrible, she scrunched her eyes shut and walked through the gates. Oh, man. Was she attacked yet? Did someone attack her and she was dead now? No, she wasn't dead... but some pretty powerful reiatsu hit her.

She was almost knocked to the side, widening her eyes and gasping for a moment. Where the hell was that reiatsu coming from? Turning around she started looking for anyone near her. No... Actually, no one was around. Where...? She turned to stare at the back of the compound, raising her eyebrows slightly before she started walking towards the back. Maybe at the training grounds? When she arrived she looked around, seeing people standing around the training grounds before she looked to see what was all the commotion. She widened her eyes and gawked, jaw dropping open in shock.

In the middle of the training field Ikkaku skidded back and looked up with a smirk.

Kenpachi stood straight and rested his zanpakuto on his shoulder, quirking a brow with a toothy grin when both his third and fifth seat picked themselves back up. Two on one, just how he'd prefer it. They weren't helping each other, and if they had he would have beat them a minute after they started.

Ikkaku laughed before he ran forward and used shunpo to get behind the Taicho, who blocked his attack without even looking. Kenpachi rolled his eyes and huffed before he turned and kicked the third seat in the side, sending him skidding across the training field. Yumichika chose that moment to attack, jumping in the air and raising his blade before he brought it down. Again, the Taicho deflected the attack and merely smirked when Yumichika landed on the ground and spun around to get him in the side.

His grin was downright bloodthirsty, his visible eye wide with excitement for battle. His reiatsu rose, hitting everyone's shoulders and making them stumble for a moment. The subordinate of Komamura Taicho almost fell to her knees, but she grabbed onto the railing.

Tamura parted her lips and stepped forward, eyes wide with wonder and awe. Whoa.

She was watching _Zaraki Taicho_ fight...

She gave a wide grin and gave an excited squeal. Awesome! She never got to see any of the Taichos fight. She could have, when the Kurosaki Ichigo and his friends came, but she was just trying to find out what to do during the whole fiasco. But now she finally gets to see one, granted it might be training but still...

Ikkaku and Yumichika both charged, ready to attack when the Taicho lifted his sword. They widened their eyes and used shunpo to jump into the air, just as Kenpachi swung his sword. Instantly, a large gash streaked across the field. He grunted when Yumichika's weapon got his side, blood staining the ground as he turned and thrust his arm out. Yumichika managed to block it, gritting his teeth and pushing it away.

Just as he jumped back the third seat charged and swung his blade, catching the Taicho's back and giving a manic grin.

"Yer gonna have ta do better than that." Kenpachi turned and raised his arm, bringing down his sword and smirking when Ikkaku dodged it and got his shoulder. "Gettin' better, Ikkaku."

Ikkaku smirked at the praise and swung his weapon once more, not at all discouraged when the Taicho blocked his attack.

When the third and fifth seat attacked, Kenpachi narrowed his eyes and swung his sword, his reiatsu causing them to fly back and hit the ground.

When they looked up they widened their eyes when the Taicho standing over them with a smirk.

"You lose." Kenpachi rested his sword on his shoulder with a grin.

The third and fifth seat scowled before they smirked in amusement and stood up.

Tamura gawked in surprise, eyes wide in awe as she watched the fight finish. Whoa. Was this how seated officers fought? Well, when people trained they didn't use real blades, but still... Eyes still wide, her mouth curled into a smile before she grinned. Seated officers were awesome. How come she didn't see them fight often? She heard how amazing people said the Taichos were when they fought, but she never witnessed one fight before. Unless one counted that time she had got Komamura Taicho to crush that centipede when she saw it.

The... _ahem_, '_battle_' was short but it was rewarded with praises.

And kisses, too, if she had known where to kiss the Taicho.

Not that she would, there were rules against that.

All she had remembered doing, when she had bent down to pick up some books she had dropped by accident when cleaning his shelf, was widen her eyes before she screamed bloody murder. Komamura, the sweetheart, had jumped up and ran to her and asked what was wrong. She then pointed at the bug while standing on the table, eyes wide and trembling, and continued to chant '_Kill it! Kill it!_' while she was as pale as a ghost. She had actually cried tears of happiness when he stepped on it and wiped up the remains. He had rubbed her head when she whimpered and started apologizing for screaming.

Damn... she just loved her Taicho.

Tamura was so lost in her thoughts, with a grin crossing her face when she thought how much she admired and respected Komamura Taicho, that she didn't notice the high seats of the eleventh division heading her way. Only when the Taicho stood ten feet from her and stared at her with a confused frown did she finally become aware of her surroundings. She blinked before her eyes snapped wide open.

Holy shit...

Zaraki Taicho was right in front of her.

Chuckling nervously, Tamura took a step back... and then a few more for good measure. Before she could get out of there(by running as fast as she could) a flash of recognition crossed Kenpachi's face before he sent her a mild glare. Which still scared the crap out of her. How the hell can this guy be so scary?! Even Komamura Taicho wasn't that scary when she met him and he's over _nine frickin' feet tall!_ She turned and tried walking away before someone stood in front of her. She squeaked and stumbled back in surprise.

Yumichika narrowed his eyes when he saw who it was, the one who _dared_ say everyone from the eleventh division was ugly. He would agree with that, but he was apart of the eleventh division. So his pride, along with the division he supposed, was on the line here. Out of everyone else he was the most beautiful, and he wouldn't let this... this... _thing_ say otherwise. He eyed her up and down, taking in her appearance.

Her hair was slightly frizzy and had split ends, but it still shined nicely. She didn't look like she took care of her skin, it was oily and her hands seemed dry from where he stood. Large, brown eyes stared back at him... not a rare eye color either, so she was plain. Nothing but a plain thing to look over and she dared to say _he_ was ugly? A sneer crossed his face, watching as the woman widened her eyes and took a tiny step back.

"You—"

"Hey, yer the chick that called us ugly." Ikkaku stared at the woman blankly.

Yumichika sent the third seat a flat stare. Didn't he hear him trying to speak?

Tamura whirled around, eyes round and standing stiff. "..._What?_" Her voice sounded small.

"Yer the woman that said everyone at the eleventh division was ugly," Ikkaku had quirked an eyebrow at her voice, taking a moment to observe the woman. She made herself look small, wide eyes staring at him fearfully under her eyelashes. Frowning to himself he soon blinked and raised his eyebrows. "Hmm."

She didn't have a backbone.

Well, now he felt like crap. "Yumichika—"

He was too late.

"Who do you think you _are?_" Yumichika continued to sneer at the woman, seeing her jump and turn to stare at him with wide eyes. He placed his hands on his hips, soon flipping his hair back. The Taicho stayed silent, eyeing the man blankly. "Ugly? Me?" Now a confused look crossed the woman's face. "_You _are _nothing_ to fawn over."

Ikkaku slapped a hand to his face. "_Yumichika!_"

"What?!" The fifth seat sent him an exasperated look. He was trying to tell someone off, _thank you very much_.

The third seat then looked pointedly at the woman, so he did as he was silently told and looked at the woman closely. He soon widened his eyes just a fraction and seemed the freeze.

Tamura was breathing slightly hard, arms pulled close and staring everywhere else. Oh, man, what should she do? Her anxiety was acting up, she felt like everyone was staring at her. She was nervous, yeah, she was definitely nervous. Here, someone from the eleventh division, and someone strong too, was getting mad at her. And something about ugliness, apparently. She didn't know what to do! Should she run?

Yumichika blinked before he closed his eyes and frowned.

Well, didn't he feel awful now?

"Uh..." Tamura chuckled nervously and shuffled on spot, swinging her arms. She soon pointed in a direction with her thumb. "I'm just gonna... leave now."

She turned and tried running away.

_Tried_.

She soon squawked when something landed on her back, letting out a screech and whipping her head around to see what it was. Oh, god, if it was a bat she'd scream bloody murder! If it was anything else like a blade she was going to scream bloody murder. She soon blinked and widened her eyes when her face was grabbed. She was turned to look left, then right, up, down and right forward again. Blinking, her eyes connected with large eyes.

"She doesn't look ugly!" Yachiru gave a pout, continuing to hold onto the baffled woman's face. Tamura blinked before she pulled a face. _What?_ "She looks normal!"

"_Too_ normal." Yumichika quickly muttered under his breath, and ignored the flat stare Ikkaku sent him.

"Uh... What?" Tamura sent the fukutaicho a look of confusion, furrowing her brow.

"He said you were ugly!" Yachiru ratted him out and pointed at the fifth seat.

Tamura quickly narrowed her eyes, her right eye soon twitching. _What?_ Who the hell did he think he was...? Nope. No. _Hell no_. No, no no no no no. She was done. Turning around she quickly tried heading for the exit, intending to get the hell out of there as quickly as she could. Who cared if she was walking out without talking to her date? All these dates can just kiss her ass(not literally, that'd be creepy). She didn't care anymore, hell, that bastard back there just confirmed her thoughts! She was ordinary, someone to look over, no one to fuss over!

Still, what a fucking assho—

She froze in step when she remembered she had a passenger, turning and instantly scowling when she saw the fukutaicho grinning at her. With care, and maybe grabbing too swiftly, she handled the fukutaicho and set her on the ground before she began stomping towards the exit with a cold look in her eyes.

"Oh! Uh, wait!"

Son of a _bitch!_

Trying to wipe the scowl off her face, she turned and regained that look of innocence that made people want to avoid teasing her. And it always seemed to work, which just amazed her sometimes. What can she say? She has a gift for looking as innocent as a New Year babe. Some people thought she was _too_ innocent, like she didn't even know how people had sex. She _knew_. She just didn't know... _what _they did during it._ Ahem_... So, yeah.

Someone jogged towards her with an embarrassed smile, stopping in front of her and rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know where you went," He gave a wide grin, seeming to be full of confidence. "I'm Kichirou Hisoka, I'm your blind date for tonight." His grin turned bashful, which made some of the men standing around them roll their eyes.

Tamura resisted the urge to send him a flat stare. "Um... My name is Shuya Tamura." She held out her hand and attempted a smile.

Kenpachi quirked a brow and frowned when he saw her mouth twitching in an effort to keep it on her face. The fuck...?

"It's nice to meet you!" Hisoka continued to smile pleasantly, and brilliantly everyone thought, before he gestured towards the compound. "We'll be eating here~!"

Tamura blinked.

Yumichika narrowed his eyes and gawked.

Ikkaku quirked a brow.

Kenpachi was already walking away.

Yachiru ran after him before situating herself on his shoulder.

Hisoka turned around and grinned at the third and fifth seat, holding his hand out towards the woman. "This is my blind date!" He seemed to be very happy for that fact.

Though Yumichika and Ikkaku weren't even looking at him and looked past him to see a flat look cross the woman's face. She glanced at the building and pulled a face, seeming the find the idea of eating at the compound distasteful. Not because of the location, maybe just a little, but more of the fact that she thought men took women to restaurants for dates. That's what all her other dates did. Why was this guy bringing her _here_ to eat?

Yumichika thought along the same lines, giving Hisoka a glare. "You are eating _here_... for your... _date._" He gave the woman a pointed stare, showing how much he thought of her.

_Hmph_... he was _not_ ugly.

"Yes," Hisoka furrowed his brow and frowned slightly. "I thought it would be good to eat here."

"I don't know much 'bout dates," Ikkaku gave him a dry stare. "but I'm pretty sure you take them _out_ for these things."

Hisoka blinked before he widened his eyes and gasped. Oh-no! Did he just ruin this? He already had his friend cook them a dinner because he was short on money, sadly. He turned, intending to apologize, but blinked when he saw she was smiling and heading for the building. Raising his eyebrows, the warrior furrowed his brow and turned towards the two seated officers. They were also staring after the woman in confusion.

"Where are we going to be eating?" Tamura struggled to keep the smile on her face, furrowing her brows and chuckling nervously.

_I'm going to _kill_ Kaede._

Because this "date" was going swimmingly. Two minutes into the "date" and she already wanted to leave. And it didn't even involve alcohol. Who knew? When he walked in front of her to lead the way, with an uncertain look thrown her way, she plastered a scowl onto her face. Anyone who saw her gave her odd stares, especially when her eyes grew cold when she would spot someone with a bottle of sake.

Ugh, it was like this place had _drunks_ everywhere!

Her expression grew more livid, hands shaking by her sides as they were led—_Seriously?_

Tamura's face went flat when she stared into the mess hall, her eyes slowly making a bee-line towards her "date"—damn, what was his name?(oh, yeah, Hisoka)—and oh, look, he was smiling. How cute, she thought dryly. Then she remembered Kaede and Musashi's advice. Hesitantly she tried to smile, but it came out crooked and strained. But hey, she was smiling. It was the thought that counted. When they walked in some people glanced at the woman curiously before they went back to their food and—her eye twitched—drinks. Why were they eating _here?_

They sat at a table for two in the mess hall, the woman lowering her head to hide her red face. God, this was embarrassing. It felt like everyone was staring at them. Looking up, she gave twitch when she saw Hisoka grinning at other people and waving. Was he _trying_ to tell everyone what this was?

"I can't bear to watch."

Ikkaku looked to the right, seeing Yumichika covering his face with his hands as he stared at the two. They were there for about five minutes and already the third seat was cringing. It seemed Kichirou was utterly _oblivious_ to the woman's distaste of being there. The fifth seat shook his head before he walked over to the table where they usually sat during while they ate. Lowering himself into the chair, he could barely look away from the table.

"It's horrible," Yumichika murmured, furrowing his brows and shaking his head. "How could he bring her _here_ to eat? This is..."

"Too embarrassing." Ikkaku finished, rolling his eyes and scoffing lightly.

"Yes!"

Tamura glanced around uneasily, watching as men shoved each other and laughed loud as they enjoyed their time. Wow, was everyone loud in this place? Well, maybe except for those "strong silent" types. And though she wouldn't admit it, she had a thing for... those strong types. Her instructor at the academy had been a kind, caring man, and have the aura of someone strong, but he seemed to turn down everyone that approached him. Ah, well.

She often wondered what happened to that guy. She didn't bother checking up on people she had former feelings for... or anyone else she used to know.

"So, how did you meet Kaede?" Hisoka decided to try and go for something they both knew, giving a kind smile and sitting straight.

"I met her when we were both in the academy," Tamura gave a shaky smile and shrugged lightly. "She was the only one willing to talk to me."

"Oh, you weren't popular?" It was a harmless question, but it still made Tamura look to the side and narrow her eyes and scowl. Jerk. "Neither was I, now that I recall." Hisoka looked up in thought and gave a small frown. "Yeah, no one liked me 'cause I came from the Rukon."

Yeah, those nobles were assholes for acting like that. As if _they_ were scum they had to scrub off the bottom of their shoes. Even thinking about it now caused a scowl to cross her face.

"Uh... yeah," Tamura gave it her best and smiled at a total stranger. "She's my best friend." _And I'm going to kill her after this date. _"How do you know her?"

"We met when we were in the shopping district," Hisoka cleared his throat and looked to the side, shrugging lightly with an embarrassed grin. "I ran into her and... uh, accidentally groped her," Tamura's eyes bugged out. Was it really an accident? You never knew with these thugs. Then again, this guy was nice so far... "and she tore me a new one."

Yep, that sounded like Kaede.

She couldn't help it. She had started snickering, covering her mouth as she grinned before she jumped and widened her eyes. Laughing at people was _bad! _Glancing up shyly, she blinked in surprise when she saw Hisoka gazing at her with a smile. A small frown crossed her face as she looked down at her lap. Well, he was handsome, she'd give him that... But at the first sign of alcohol she was _leaving_, and kicking his ass at the same time!

...Yeah, right, she could barely tackle Kenzo without hurting herself in the process.

It had happened one time, when she tried catching him off guard. He didn't even budge when she slammed into his side. All he did was look down when she fell to the ground and blinked in confusion.

Then he started laughing when he realized what had happened.

If Kaede wasn't her best friend, he _definitely_ would be her best friend.

He was nice, and always seemed to be in a good mood.

But his perverted attitude made her want to hit him sometimes.

She listened as Hisoka talked, giving a wide grin and getting embarrassed when he realized he was talking too long. All she did was smile and wave her hand and continued to let him talk. She wasn't much of a talker, anyway. No, she supposed she was, but she just assumed some people didn't want to hear her talk. _The life of Tamura, awkward around people and unable to start conversations._ She discreetly rolled her eyes at herself.

"Well, they seem ta be enjoyin' themselves now," Ikkaku ignored them now, grabbing a cup and taking a small sip of sake. It burned pleasantly as it made its way down his throat. "So stop starin' at 'em like a creep."

Yumichika did no such thing, continuing to watch with a scowl. _That woman..._ Ugh, couldn't she see how _beautiful_ he was?

Ikkaku just rolled his eyes.

The couple, now getting comfortable with each other, gazed at one another before they looked away. Tamura rubbed her hands together, wetting her lips with her tongue and feeling embarrassed. Why was she getting _so_... weird? Boy, was it hot in here? Well, look at the bright side. At least he wasn't drinking. She even found herself enjoying her time. Which was startling. This guy was nice and all, but... she didn't really _want_ a boyfriend.

Though Kaede was right.

If she did, in fact, get married(she ignored the urge to snort with laughter) then she would be doing nothing but married couple stuff... Whatever married couples did together. She knew they did _things_ together in the bedroom but did they play games? It wouldn't be fun if they didn't play games. Or cuddled together. Hmm... what _did_ married couples do? Maybe if she got married herself she'd know...

Tamura started snickering just as someone grabbed Hisoka's attention.

Hisoka widened his eyes and gazed at his friend with a gawk, who grinned apologetically and then smirked cockily.

He stood up and held his hands out. "I-I'm sorry, Tamura-chan," She stared at him with a dumbfounded look for the suffix. Tamura _what?_ "but there's an issue in the kitchen and our food, so I have to go see to that." He gave a nervous grin before he turned and sent Makoto a glare.

Who only shrugged and gave another smirk. "Don't look at _me_, it was Aramaki. Stupid bastard bumped inta Shinobu and set off a chain reaction. Now everythin's a mess." Makoto rolled his eyes and scoffed, holding a hand up when he saw Hisoka's face darken. "Don't worry, we already handled him." He paused for effect and gave a wide, deadly grin. "He's tied up in the supply closet."

Hisoka sighed and rubbed his face with his hand. This date was a disaster now. "Let's just go and try to fix this."

"Got it, _boss._" Makoto gave a thumbs up and rolled his eyes before he turned to head back for the kitchen, nothing but sarcasm in his tone.

Hisoka turned around and gave a wide, nervous grin. "I'm sorry, again, Tamura-chan, but I have to go fix this and then I'll be back!"

Was he going to keep calling her that? "No problem." She blinked with a blank look on her face, watching as the man smiled and followed his friend.

Hmm... Well, she had no experience, so she didn't know if this qualified as bad. Maybe? Well, he _did_ apologize, but then... Shrugging lightly, she gave a small sigh and fiddled with her fingers as she leaned back in her seat. Now what? Does she wait? Does she bail? Does she play a game of "I Spy" against herself? Actually, that sounded like fun, much better than sitting here in awkward silence. Now, what to spot...?

The background noise seemed to quiet for a moment before people started bellowing out greetings, which caused the woman to turn and raise her eyebrows in curiosity.

Zaraki Taicho walked into the room, looking as dangerous as ever.

Suddenly, her eyes narrowed and a scowl crossed her face. Sure, she was scared of this man, but he was _also_ the man that had fought against Komamura Taicho. Pursing her lips, she huffed and turned around in her seat. If she was strong enough, and had enough confidence, she would punch him... and if she punched him _now_ then she'd only hurt herself. She had heard, one time, that someone punched him in a drunken rage and had broken their hand.

Though that might have been because Zaraki Taicho grabbed him later and snapped his wrist.

But, really... who was stupid enough to try and punch_ Zaraki Taicho?_

Just the thought of the Taicho(who _dared_ hurt Komamura) caused her to scowl and glare at the tabletop. Ugh, she didn't like him. She didn't _hate_ him, not really, she just found him intimidating... and frickin' scary. Seriously, he drank hollow blood!

...Though that _may_ or _may not _have been just a rumour.

It wasn't proven... _yet_.

Across the room, Kenpachi walked towards his chair, turning around and sitting down and resting his cheek against his hand, gazing across the room in boredom. Right now he just wanted to crash out and train early tomorrow morning. And start training everyone. They were all starting to become fat slobs. At least they weren't like Soi Fon's fukutaicho, though that bastard's been a useless idiot since he's been fukutaicho.

Someone set food in front of him, and his usual bottle of sake. Yachiru was already tearing into her food, giving a wide grin when he reached over and ruffled her hair.

When he looked up he gave a frown when he saw that woman looking around the mess hall with raised eyebrows. Where the hell was Kichirou? Did he ditch her already? Eh, it wasn't his business. Reaching towards his food he poured himself a drink and drank it with one gulp. They should go on patrol soon, then maybe his boredom would be sated.

Yachiru wasn't bored, lucky lil' brat, she had her club and all her friends to entertain her.

Him? He had nothing to do but train and nap.

It wasn't much different than before, when he had become a Taicho, but he had something to actually look forward to. Fighting Ichigo. But the little coward didn't bother with their rematch. Apparently, he thought that since they were "friends" they shouldn't have to fight. Scoffing lightly, he rolled his eyes. _Of course _friends can fight. Everyone did it. Huffing under his breath he stared at the inside of his cup with a scowl.

Stupid idiot.

Now he was nothing but bored.

* * *

Now she was bored.

Tamura scowled and looked around, looking for another thing that started with "G". Grey, grape, ground(but that didn't count, since she was staring at the floor), _green_(someone actually had that hair color, ugh), and other things... What should she look for now? Something that began with "H"? Resting her head in her hands she gave a bored sigh.

"Hey, lookit."

Furrowing her brow, she turned her head towards the voice.

Instantly, she narrowed her eyes and sneered, eyes growing cold when she saw some inebriated people staring at her with interest. Curling her lip she scoffed and looked away.

"Hey."

Her shoulders bunched up, curling her fingers and gritting her teeth. All these years and she _still_ didn't know why she was angry with people that would drink. Why they drank, she didn't know, and pretty much didn't care. They would instantly slide into the "useless" pile.

"Hey, woman."

Turning her head, Tamura gave them a sneer, narrowing her eyes and staring at them in disgust. They didn't seem dissuaded, though. Either they didn't notice, or didn't care, but they leered at her and gave smarmy grins.

"How would ya like ta come over 'ere an' drink with us?" The man, an ugly one at that, too, motioned for her to join their table.

"_No thanks_," Her tone was icy, face still set in that cold look. "So _please_, kindly,_ leave me alone._" She gritted the words out.

"No need ta be a bitch," He stood up, not noticing that she flinched. No need to be a _what?!_ While her face was nothing but cold, she was asking, as _kindly_ as she could, for him to leave her _alone!_ "I was askin' nicely." He stumbled towards her, which caused her to go ramrod straight and widen her eyes in rage. "Now c'mon." He grabbed her arm and pulled her from her seat, tearing a protest from her.

At that moment, everyone looked up and frowned when they saw what Akihiko and his group of friends were doing. The Taicho narrowed his eyes and frowned before he sighed and stood up to deal with the situation. Ikkaku and Yumichika were immediately on his heels, scowling at the man.

Jeez, that idiot was _tremendously_ stupid when he got drunk.

"Hey, let go!" Tamura snarled, trying to wretch her arm away from the man, lip curled in a sneer and eyes growing dark with anger.

"We jus' wanna have fun, ya don't need ta be a bitch." He slurred, clearly ignoring her when he tried to pull her towards their table.

_WHAT?!_ She wasn't used to this. She was _used_ to drunk people _leaving her alone_, especially when they would see how much they disgusted her. A sneer from her was enough to stop them from talking to her. Even Kaede and Kenzo would stop talking to her until they were completely sober. Tamura's observation skills were a little impressive, since she kept a lookout all the time for any signs of someone being drunk, which were easy enough to spot.

The stench of alcohol around them was enough of an indicator, their eyes, the way they spoke, the way they tried hard to hide it from her.

Drunk people were so easy to spot.

Her cold attitude was enough to stop them, but not _this_ asshole!

Her anger was steadily growing the more he tugged on her arm, trying to pull herself free as she glared at the man. The men around her took one look at her and widened their eyes when they saw the absolute _rage_ in her eyes, some actually getting up and trying to help.

"Would you let go, you_ son of a bitch!_" She screamed, finally pulling herself free.

Finally, the _fucking idiot _seemed to get that something was wrong.

He turned, just in time to see a pair of dark, green eyes glowing at him. Her reiatsu was leaking out, which caused the effect, but she knew it wasn't impressive. Kenzo said only strong emotions of anger could cause this, and this _idiot_ had _pissed her off_ enough that her eyes were starting to glow.

Kenpachi had stopped right when he was about to grab the idiot, raising an eyebrow and giving a small frown.

Shaking in anger, Tamura gritted her teeth and snarled out, "How _fucking stupid _are you, you _dumb... son of a... BITCH?!_" Her icy tone was enough to make the man flinch, along with some men around her. "If someone tells you to let go, you _fucking let them go! _Or are you _so_ drunk you can't seem to fucking process that through your fucking drunk-addled _mind!_" He flinched again and took a step back when she glared at him.

He held his hands up, trying to explain himself.

"_NO!_ You...! No," A dark smile crossed her face, her eye twitching for a moment. "you see, _you_ don't get to talk. No, you are a _drunk._ A useless, ugly, stupid, _bastard_ that doesn't get a _say_ in anything. And a _drunk_ shouldn't have an opinion of any kind." She spat the word 'drunk' like it was the most disgusting thing she ever learned of, and didn't seem to notice that everyone watched as she basically verbally abused the man, watching the show with wide, intrigued eyes.

She turned, intending to leave and forget everything that ever happened there, including the date, and stopped when she was in front of the Taicho.

Her eyes flicked towards the bottle in his hand.

Kenpachi frowned when her face twisted into another sneer before she glared up at him with wide, rage-filled eyes.

"Get out of my way, you useless _DRUNK!_" She yelled, causing the Taicho to widen his eyes slightly in shock and the fukutaicho to gasp before she sent her a glare.

Side-stepping around the man, she walked towards the exit with her hands shaking, eyes still wide and lip curled in a snarl. Oh, man! When was the last time she was this angry?! Sliding the door open harshly, she stomped down the hallway with a growl, ignoring the shocked people that stared after her. What she wouldn't _give_ to punch that bastard! And kick him between the legs! Once arriving outside, did her actions finally register. Slowly, her eyes wide growing wide with horror as her jaw dropped.

She just...

...

She _yelled_ at_ Zaraki Taicho!_

Gawking, her jaw hung open as she trembled on spot.

And called him a "_useless drunk!_"

Before she could panic and pull her hair out Kenzo appeared in front of her, which caused her to jump and widen her eyes when he wrapped his arm around her. They disappeared just as the door slid open and Hisoka ran out with Makoto and looked around with wide eyes. Furrowing his brows, his shoulders dropped at the same an air of despair surrounded him. They didn't even get to eat...

"W-What happened?" Hisoka turned to stare at his tall friend, seeing him shrug with a confused frown.

"I dunno, but I heard yellin' from the mess hall."

Makoto rubbed the back of his head and frowned at the pathetic image his friend made. This was the first date he's had in _months_, and it went to hell before they even got to eat. Or see if there could have gone anywhere.

"It was Akihiko." They both turned to see the ever-serious, slender man that was Gorou, eyes blank and back straight as he stared at them.

"A-Akihiko?" Hisoka asked, blinking twice before he started shaking in anger, hands shaking before he started stomping up the steps and down the hallway. "I'm going to_ kill him!_" He growled out, his two friends staring after him.

Makoto blinked in a bored manner, arms crossed over his chest before he glanced at Gorou. "So, what'd the bastard do to chase the woman away?"

Gorou glanced at him blankly and relayed everything he had seen in the mess hall. Slowly, the tall man's eyes started growing wide before he began cackling. Holy fuck, this was_ hilarious! _If Hisoka didn't go after that woman to apologize, then hell, _he'll_ go and see if she wants to be _h__is_ woman!

Gorou rolled his eyes and walked away as the man continued to laugh himself sick.

* * *

**Okay, this... yeah, _this_ has to be my favorite first impression ever. XD **

**Anyone noticed my new avatar pic? OwO It's no longer Kenpachi or Yachiru, but I still like it. :D I'm still debating whether or not to make Hisoka, Makoto, and Gorou regulars. I like them already. OwO **

**And, since my other stories have an older role model, these guys will have one, too. :D Though he won't be like Tetsuya or Hiroshi. X3 Maybe a _little_ like Tetsuya, but hopefully not by much. :D**

**November 22, 2014**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N** I thank anyone for reading. Much appreciated. OwO

**DeathKnight KiraKira**

**Momochan77**

**CarnivorousShe**

**RandomCritic**

**Lilikoikoi**

**DemonVermin**

**DragonKnight Kara**

**EbonySapphire**

Oh, my god! O.O

Guys, Tamura isn't as ordinary as I hoped! QAQ I doodled her on my deviantart and she looks... she looks too pretty! DX Which is, y'know, a sign for me that she's going to be too pretty than ordinary. O_O But these _hands of mine_... They drew her like that! DX

Damn you, hands!

Maybe I'll just keep her look...QwQ

**Disclaimer** – I do not own Bleach.

**Warning** – Swearing.

* * *

-:-

* * *

It wasn't often someone shocked him.

That woman certainly did. The sides of his mouth curled downwards after a few moments and barked at everyone to continue doing their own business. Once they did he turned and stared down at Akihiko, seeing him look at the door with wide, shocked eyes. Turning around, he sent Ikkaku a stare. The third seat gave a nod and a smirk, walking past and quickly knocking the idiot over with his scabbard. Everyone didn't react as Madarame yelled at the man on the floor.

Though when Hisoka slammed the door open and glared around the room everyone had gone quiet. They soon watched as he stomped over to Akihiko and dragged him towards the exit with a dark look on his face.

Hisoka showed potential, but he wasn't known for starting fights.

He ignored it a second later when Yachiru tugged on his sleeve and held up a piece of meat with a grin. A smirk crossed his face before he ate the offered food, deciding to ignore the irritating little woman. He had more important things to do now. After he finished Yachiru gained a wide grin.

She felt a tickle in her throat and started coughing, sniffling after she was done.

* * *

When the sensation of her stomach churning stopped she pushed herself away from Kenzo and held her stomach. Oh, man, she never got used to the feeling of someone else using shunpo instead of her. Kenzo constantly did it with her and he never failed to giggle at her nauseous face. Except now... he wasn't giggling. It was so strange that it made her turn around and blink when she saw his face.

Kenzo's arms were crossed over his chest, eyes narrowed and his mouth in a firm line.

Ooh, ooh, he looked mad.

Tamura stared at him, eyes flicking to the side before she looked back. Well... now what? Her back straightened unconsciously when he reached up and pinched his nose. It was weird seeing him so serious. Usually he was joking and smiling. His demeanour changed from serious to something a little more scary... which made her eyes grow wide and pale when his face darkened with an equally dark grin.

"So," He started pleasantly, stepping forward with a strained grin. "Who was that _lovely_ gentleman that was dragging you?

She blinked before she twitched and stared at him with wide eyes. "You were watching?!"

Kenzo continued to grin and purred out. "_Of course_, I couldn't just leave my little friend there by herself! What kind of friend would that make me?" He suddenly leaned forward with a frown. "Who was he? How did he look? What did he do? Did he touch you? Did he try groping you?"

Tamura slowly held up her hands as he fired question after question, eyes still wide. "Kenzo, _Kenzo_, calm down!" He did, though he still had that deranged look in his eyes. She paused and narrowed her eyes. "You're not going to use your position to interrogate him, are you?"

Kenzo, while always outgoing and easy to get along with when he was off-duty, was an outstanding seated officer... in the second division. Being the fourth seat he had access to many things, and unfortunately, used his position for mundane things. The second date she had gone on, the guy turned out to be a jerk and tried propositioning her by joining him in bed(she slapped him and left), but he suddenly turned up at the seventh division when she had been with Kenzo, Kaede, and Musashi. He had apologized profusely, often glancing over her shoulder and paling. Only when she turned did she see what he was looking at.

Kenzo.

Every time she turned around he was smiling.

It took her a moment to figure it out. She yelled at him that she can take care of herself and that she slapped him for that... _offer_... and told him not to do it anymore. Of course, he didn't listen. Anyone that had caused her any grief suffered the same treatment. Though _what_ he did to them was still a mystery. And he was always with her when they would come to apologize, glancing at him with fear. She just stopped caring, since he _never_ listened.

"No, _of course_ not," Kenzo placed a hand on his chest and gave a wide-eyed stare of mock surprise. "I would _never_ abuse my position like that! What would that say about me?" He gave a smirk, one that made her glower at him. "Now, just tell me who that was?" That creepy smile was back, which made her purse her lips.

"I don't know who that was, and I don't care," She took in their surroundings, blinking when she realized they were at the second division. No wonder he used shunpo. "Why are we here?"

"'Cause you're going to be spending the night with me," Kenzo gave a wide, charming smile, one that made her give him a suspicious glare. "Then tell me this, Tamura, my dear... where do you think Kaede and Musashi will go after your "date?"

Tamura blinked before she scowled. Damn, he had a point.

"Fine," She turned, heading for the barracks with a slouch, looking very much like a pouting child. "...I hate you."

Kenzo gave a wide smirk and followed, grabbing a hold of the woman's arm and using shunpo. When they arrived Tamura held her stomach with her hand over her mouth.

"Would you stop?!" She held her hands to her stomach, giving the redhead a dark glare.

"Just giving you a lift," Kenzo gave an amused smirk, and didn't react when he received an even darker glare. "I'm just being polite."

They went to his room, settling in for the night. The redhead couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his face when his little buddy dressed in one of his sleeping clothes. It just dwarfed her.

Too bad she hit him when he hugged her, just a slap to the head and a scowl directed at him. A goofy smile crossed his face, lightly giggling to himself. She was so cute when she was mad~! 'Course he wasn't stupid enough to make her mad all the time, he didn't want to cause her stress.

While they were lying in his bed, Tamura stared at the ceiling. Turning her head she stared at her friend with curious eyes.

"Kenzo," She muttered lightly, waiting until he turned his head before she started speaking. "Is there anyone you're scared of?"

"Soi Fon Taicho," He didn't even hesitate. He would forever be scared of that woman. She may be small, but she packed a punch. He had been unfortunate to be the dummy during a training exercise with the new recruits. All he remembered was running towards the woman and aiming a hit before he was waking up on the ground. "If you met her you'd understand." Never cross that woman. "Why? Is there someone you're afraid of?"

Tamura paused. "...Zaraki Taicho sure is scary," She pouted and glared at the ceiling. "He's too different from Komamura Taicho."

"Well, thankfully, all the Taichos are different from each other," Folding his arms behind his head and smirked. "I don't think we'd survive if all the Taichos were the same and had the same training regimen. Though maybe some should relax." Like that Kuchiki Taicho.

"What if you were Taicho?"

"Hah!" Kenzo gave a wide grin. "Nah, it'd be too much work. And anyway, I'm not even close to being able to perform Bankai. It'd take _years_ just to even try and reach that level." He reached over and rubbed the dark haired woman's head. "And if I do I'd be able to take you under my wing and train you."

Tamura blinked before she smiled. "I'm fine with where I am. I think I'd be scared if I fought stronger enemies."

Kenzo smiled before he pulled his friend into his arms and held her. Ah, it was at time like this you could see how innocent Tamura was. She had a bland view of the world, but she was so innocent. She would probably have no choice but to try and get stronger. He saw the Taichos. He saw how they were training more rigorously after that fight with... Aizen. In just a few months they were all much stronger than before meeting Kurosaki Ichigo. He was no fool. They were expecting something, what it was he didn't know... and he probably didn't want to know.

Tamura was innocent. So amazingly innocent that he sometimes thought she had to be joking. In this day and age who didn't even know what sex was? Hell, he couldn't go one day before thinking of how he could romance Musashi and how he would touch him. Without even realizing it he started drooling. Yeah, he found a gem. He wouldn't trade Musashi for anyone in the world.

He could see why Musashi and Kaede didn't want to show Tamura how sex worked.

Maybe he could sneak her a book and she could understand it. Hell, she didn't even want to participate in it. He knew. He asked her one time. She had looked disgusted and said she just wanted to know _why_ people even had sex. Intimacy? Love? She wanted to know, but he couldn't help her.

Smiling, he tightened his hold when he noticed that Tamura had fallen asleep while he had been thinking. If only he'd been attracted to women. He might have been able to show her how it is to love someone.

* * *

The next day, with a destination in her mind, Tamura made her way down the street to head for the eighth division. Another friend she made, all on her own. She had made four friends on her own. Awesome. She wanted some questions answered, and the man she was going to see gave her straightforward answers. Instead of trying to divert her attention like Kaede, Musashi, and Kenzo. She wasn't a child! Though he also didn't tell her what people did when they were in the bedroom. Her other three friends managed to get him to shut up about that stuff, which annoyed her to no end.

She was old enough to know!

What was their reason for keeping this from her?! Scowling, she huffed lightly when she walked into the courtyard of the eighth division, desperately looking around in case the jerk from the academy was there. This sucked. She had a friend here, and that jerk was also here. Why couldn't he be at another division? Far from her and Musashi. When she walked into the building she looked down the hallways, on the lookout. Seeing that he was nowhere(and that it was safe) she continued on.

When she made it to the office where all the seated officers were she knocked and waited until she had the go ahead. Sliding the door open, she peered around and grinned when she found who she wanted. He was standing at the window, looking outside with his arms folded behind his backs and fingers interlaced.

"Masaru!"

His shoulders tensed before he turned with a distasteful frown on his face, which only grew when he noticed who was walking towards him. Rolling his eyes with a sigh he turned to face the young woman, seeing her grin grow when she noticed how irritable he was. Nobuyuki Masaru, fourth seat of the eighth division. He seemed to be a little... sadistic, taking pleasure in how hard he worked the subordinates. Most people said he had a silver-tongue, using it to his advantage and was a natural charmer. He was a little handsome, she supposed, a little rugged but handsome. His voice made some women swoon, but that only added to his charm.

"_Tamura,_" Masaru droned out, rolling his eyes and looking away with a huff. "What is it?"

"I got some questions." She grinned and opened her mouth to say more when he interrupted.

"_Of course_," He continued to frown. "That is the _only_ reason you come to see me."

"Hey," She scowled and placed her hands on her hips, sending the man a flat stare. "I offered to visit you and you always turn me down."

"And _why_ would_ I _want _you_ to visit _me?_" He purred with a dark smirk on his face, leaning forward with the intention of trying to scare the woman. "If you believe we are _friends_, Tamura, then you are sadly mistaken."

Tamura gave him a flat stare. "Yeah, we _are_ friends, no matter what you say," The dark-haired man stood straighter and rolled his eyes with a sneer. "I have some... questions." She looked around with a red face, biting her lip and giving the man a nervous grin.

Masaru raised an eyebrow before he rolled his eyes with a groan of annoyance. "Of course," He motioned her to follow him. Ignoring everyone else in the office, who only looked up before they went back to work, he walked out of the room and down the hallway. He led them to the mess hall, getting them both food and finding a table. Or, more like, he told some younger shinigami to leave the table and sat down. Tamura gave him a flat stare before she sat down. "Now, what is your question?" He gave her a stern stare.

"Uh... what does it feel like... to _like_ someone?" Tamura interlaced her fingers and looked at her lap, face burning red before she looked up. "...When you _begin_ to like someone?"

The reason Tamura went to Masaru was to ask questions... about romance.

The older man merely stared at her blankly before he waved a hand. "The usual feeling of "butterflies" and feeling like they're the most important person in your life. Is that all you wanted?" He gave her an irritated stare before he grabbed his cup and took a sip. "If you don't mind, I'm quite busy."

Tamura furrowed her brows and scowled. "But I don't know what that feeling _is!_" She whined and rested her head on the table, staring up at the man with wide, pathetic eyes. "_Pleeeeease _explain better? Please?" She gave a wide grin, watching as the man gave her a blank stare.

"You should know, Tamura, that unlike your friends _I_ am immune to that stare," She scowled. That was true. He never responded to the puppy-dog eyes. "but I am feeling generous today." She brightened, sitting up straight and leaning forward with a grin. "Your heart speeds up when they look at you, unconsciously, and you always put that person's needs before your own. That person is always on your mind, and you want to be by their side forever."

He then decided that was enough, going back to eating while Tamura scowled. He always did this. When she would start to get into his definition he went back to being quiet.

Masaru didn't seem like someone one would call _romantic_. He was cold, detached from everyone, and didn't seem to care about the well-being of anyone, his Taicho included. But surprisingly...

Tamura scowled before she looked past Masaru and waved with a grin. "Hi, Haruko!"

His demeanour suddenly changed, eyes lighting up and a smile gracing his face before he turned around. Only no one was there. He turned around, sending the woman a frown and glare. A wide grin crossed her face, watching as Masaru rolled his eyes with a sneer. It didn't seem like it but he loved someone dearly, so much that he didn't care if people watched in astonishment if he stared at her with so much love in his eyes when he had the reputation of being selfish.

_And_... he was married to this woman.

The thought was enough to make a smile cross Tamura's face. "You're so_ cute~!_"

"Hardly," Masaru scoffed, sneering at the word before he gave the woman a flat stare. "Now, if you do not _mind_..." He looked pointedly at the exit.

"But you got me food!" Tamura grinned, grabbing the food and giving a wide smirk. "I'm not leaving until I'm done."

He snorted. "I knew it was a mistake getting food for you, as well."

"...It's 'cause you love me."

"I do _not_, and do _not_ imply that again."

She went silent for a moment. "...I love you, too."

He groaned and rolled his eyes, which made a wide grin cross Tamura's face when she caught his mouth twitching. Aw, one of these days she'll make him smile at her like they were the best of friends. Movement caught her eyes, making her look over Masaru's shoulder and blink before she raised her arm and started waving.

"Hi, Haruko!"

Masaru rolled his eyes. "Do not think you can fool me again, girl."

"Hello, love."

His eyes grew wide, quickly whipping around and smiling when he saw his wife. He stood up, grasping her hands and gazing at the woman lovingly. Nobuyuki Haruko, wife of Masaru, was absolutely _beautiful_. With long, black flowing hair and warm brown eyes. Some people would compare the two and be completely _baffled_ at how someone like Masaru managed to marry a woman like Haruko. They didn't seem to care about what anyone thought, however, and seemed to be lost in each other for hours on end. _That's_ what made her curious. How did it feel to look at someone like _that? _She always wanted to know.

Haruko smiled at her husband before she noticed Tamura. "Oh, Tamura! It's so nice to see you," Her smile brightened. Her hands were still in her husband's, the younger shinigami noted. "Here to ask my husband more questions?" She teased with a grin.

"Please, my dear," Masaru rolled his eyes and huffed. "That is the only reason she comes here. I would prefer she stays at her division."

"Now, now," Haruko gave him a cheeky smile before she patted his cheek. Almost instantly, he melted in her touch and gave her a loving smile. "she just loves you as her friend."

"Yes, well," He huffed and sneered at a couple subordinates gawking at him. They instantly looked away. "I would prefer that she bombards _you_ with endless questions than come to me."

"But Masaru," Tamura whined, giving the man a wide smile and batting her eyelashes. "You're one of my best friends."

He gave her a flat stare. "Do not say that again."

Tamura started snickering, watching as the couple gazed at one another with warm smiles. It still amazed her. This man could scare anyone into submission and manipulate people into doing what he wanted, but as soon as his wife was near he turned into a loving husband, but still had that mischievous streak, that didn't care what anyone thought of him. At least, until his wife left. Then he went back to being his cold, manipulative self.

"Are we still having dinner at the _Red Moon?_" Haruko asked, giving the man a warm smile.

Marasu gave a warm smile. "I wouldn't go back on our plans, my love."

Haruko smiled kindly, stroking his cheek before she turned and sent Tamura one last smile. Marasu smiled after his wife, and as soon—right as she left the room—the smile disappeared and that dark glint returned to his eye. He turned and started glaring around the room, at the many of astonished people, giving a scary sneer that made everyone stiffly look away. He returned to his seat and ate in silence, face blank and eyes cold.

Tamura merely blinked at him.

"You guys seem happy." A grin crossed her face, watching as the man sent her a glare.

"Quiet yourself, child," She pouted. She wasn't a kid. Just because he was older...! "Is that all you wanted to know?" He meant her question earlier.

"But you didn't even explain good!" Tamura whined, kicking her feet and whining like a child.

"As I keep saying, this is a feeling you need to experience yourself," Marasu stared at her with an unreadable expression, fingers interlaced and elbows resting on the table. "So go out and look for love yourself." He waved his hand and sent her a blank stare. "Then you can have sex and won't need to keep asking what it is."

Tamura pulled a face. "I'm not interested in sex, I'm interested in what it's like to like someone!" She waved her arms and pouted, soon crossing her arms and huffing. "I don't even _want_ to love someone. This is something I don't know, and I want to know what it is." She rested her chin on the table, clearly sulking.

Marasu sighed and closed his eyes. "This is something you need to feel for yourself. No other explanation will ever be good enough."

Tamura furrowed her brows and looked at the table for a silent moment. "You mean... I need to try and _find_ someone to love?"

"Yes," Marasu nodded, reaching for his cup and taking a sip. Once he finished he set it down and opened his eyes. "But it can't just be anyone—"

He paused, finding the spot across from him empty.

Silent, he soon sneered and started glaring at the tray empty of food and the thank you she hastily scribbled down on a piece of paper. She left without even letting him finish? He growled and glared ahead, scaring the kids sitting at the other table. Calming down he reached into his robes and pulled out a pipe. Ah, well. It shouldn't be a problem. As long as she didn't go to the first person she saw and tried loving them or something else stupid.

* * *

So... to find out what it was like to love someone she needed to find someone to love.

But who?

Damn, she didn't even want a boyfriend. Or girlfriend. Either way. Scowling, she rubbed her head and sighed. She couldn't think of anyone. And she didn't want it to be a friend, that would be weird. Someone she doesn't know and would let her try and love them... ehhh!

When she passed ninth division(did she walk the wrong way again? )she slowed to a stop when she saw someone heading towards her with a kind smile. It wasn't Musashi or Kaede thankfully, but... Well, he wasn't exactly a close friend but he was a friend nonetheless. Idly, she looked to the side with a blank face. How did she make so many friends when she's so awkward, anyway? It will forever be a mystery to her.

"Hello, Tamura~!" He smiled kindly, arms tucked into his sleeves. She returned his smile, since that was the polite thing to do. "I'm sorry to ask this of you, but would you mind if I could borrow some of your cleaning products?" His smile turned sheepish. "I spent my money this month, and I didn't even think to buy any." He turned and scowled in the distance, that thought alone irritating him.

Ogawa Koji, a nice man from the ninth division. Somehow they had crossed each other while she had been shopping, for cleaning stuff since she hadn't cleaned her room. She wasn't sure if she qualified as a clean freak, but this guy sure did. After he had approached her they had started talking, and managed to keep talking. Which amazed her since he wasn't put off by her one-worded responses. Though she soon opened up when she found out how nice he was.

He was... handsome. This wasn't her opinion, but from the many women of the ninth division. And some men. She didn't knew whether he was her type or not. He was nice, so that qualified him enough to be a friend. One she saw every once in a while.

He was tall, slender, and was handsome. Sharp, brown eyes and long brown hair that was tied loosely. If she wanted a father figure she wanted it to be this guy. Then again she'd want Rusuke to be her father figure(he was another friend that will be mentioned later. He was nice). This guy would be... maybe a brother? Maybe.

She shrugged slightly.

"Sure," She gave a nod and a smile. Koji's kind smile turned into a toothy grin, grabbing a hold of her arm and leading her towards the seventh division. He often did this, it was the gentlemanly thing to do he had said after she finally asked after the second time. "I'm not sure how much I have left."

"Whatever you have should be fine, I was almost finished cleaning when I ran out," He sighed and hung his head, glaring ahead and pursing his lips. "If some friends hadn't taken me out I would have been able to buy some cleaning products."

Tamura stared up at him, blinking once and tilting her head. She spent considerable time with him. If she had to describe him with one word it would be... motherly. Don't get her wrong, it wasn't an insult. But even with his friends he made sure they ate healthily, he cleaned up everything, and he just seemed to have this motherly aura around him. One time she had been eating with him after they had gone shopping together and decided to eat at a restaurant she had some food on her face(she wasn't a clean eater... shuddap) he had reached over and grasped her chin. She had jumped at the time in surprise at the contact.

Stupidly she had thought "_This happens in books! Is he going to kiss me?_" So she had been surprised when he wiped her cheek off with a napkin. After that she started observing him more carefully, watching as he helped her whenever she would meet him, even fussing over her when she fell and hit her hand on a stand.

Wait!

That's it!

If there was one position she wanted him to be it was... mother!

Tamura started snickering to herself at her own joke, making Koji stare down at her curiously and smile with affection. She was such a cute little thing. Too bad his tastes were... different.

He looked around the area they were in, soon tensing up and glaring at the courtyard they would be passing. The eighth division courtyard. He knew Tamura's problem with the division(she didn't like the Taicho... since she heard he drank often) but his dislike had more to do with... someone else. Now this person... he was a friend, but a friend he quickly grew tired of the longer he was when he was in his company.

Suddenly, a shadow covered them both.

Blinking once, they turned around as one. Tamura blinked yet again while Koji paled and widened his eyes.

"If it isn't Koji!" A wide, crooked grin crossed the face. A tall, muscular man stared down at the brunet with nothing but mischievous in his eyes. Dark hair adorned his head, spiky and wild. Holding a pipe to his mouth he pulled it out and smirked widely.

"Hello, Shigeo." Tamura droned out, pausing before she smiled.

Apparently, he and Koji was close in age but the brunet looked much, much younger than his age. And they were old she had heard. But she was scared that if she said that out loud they'd both get mad at her. A grin stretched across her face. Should she risk it?

She was thrown out of her thoughts when Shigeo glanced at her at the same time Koji released her arm and sent the (slightly) older man a glare.

"Eh? You're with Tamura-chan today!" Shigeo gave a wide grin and patted her head, making the brunette blink before she soaked up the affection with a smile. While she didn't like hugs she absolutely loved it when someone like Shigeo patted her head. She felt like she accomplished something. "Great to see you, kid! How have you been?"

"Good." Tamura grinned up at the older man, the rubbing on her head resuming before he moved his hand.

"I haven't seen you in a while either, Koji," A smirk spread across Shigeo's face, leaning in close to the glaring brunet. "Don't you like me anymore?"

Tamura blinked and looked to the side before looking back. Should she leave? Were they having a moment? Just as she was about to turn and sneak away she jumped and froze when Koji's hand lashed out and grabbed her shoulder, making sure she didn't leave while the glare remained on his face.

"I don't know...!" Koji growled lightly, looking very angry. "Why don't you tell me the reason why that is?" He didn't even wait for the smirking man to answer. "_Oh! _Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you kissed me and then claimed it was because you were drunk!" He whispered harshly and then lashed out at the older man, grasping his robes and pulled him in close and glaring right in his face.

Shigeo didn't lose the smirk, if fact it had looked like it widened. "I _was_ drunk—!"

"Think _very_ carefully, Shigeo," Koji's face darkened. "If you don't want me to hit you then you better answer _very_ carefully _without_ that look on your face!"

The dark haired man did as the brunet asked and removed the smirk, but the light shine didn't leave his eye. "I _was_ drunk, Koji, but you didn't really let me explain before you started screaming and hitting me and then left with the promise that you were going to castrate me if I ever did that again."

"I had to suffer _years_ of you groping me and flirting with me! I've seen you do that to others! How do I know this isn't some joke?" Koji scoffed and waved a hand in a mocking way while he placed the other on his hip. The frown that was on his face didn't lessen. "For all I know you could have a girlfriend and you do this to make me panic!" He pointed at the man and stomped his foot. "_SO?! SPIT IT OUT!_"

Tamura took one step back, eyes wide.

A _very_ private moment.

She needed to get out while she could.

"A girlfriend? You really think I'd do that if I had a girlfriend?" Shigeo pouted and took a step back, looking very hurt. "I wouldn't do that, Koji. Stop insulting me." He waved a hand, as if the very idea itself was stupid. He suddenly grinned and took a step forward, holding his hands out. "Now just come into my arms and then we'll—"

Koji kicked his face, face shadowed over and a scowl on his face. This idiot couldn't take anything seriously!

He turned around, opening his mouth to tell Tamura that they were going to leave while Shigeo was picking himself up, before he paused when he noticed that the space behind him was empty. A scowl crossed his face. Great. He scared her _and_ chased her off. He had to apologize to her and find someone else to borrow products from. There was nothing quite like a great shine to his floor.

Hands grabbed his hips.

"Now that Tamura-chan's gone we can spend some time together!" Shigeo smiled widely, not moving his hands from the slender man's hips.

Without even looking, and with grit teeth, Koji's arm shot back, elbowing the older man's face. Shigeo whined and held his face while the brunet stomped away, still glaring ahead and snarling when he noticed that the older man was following. People avoided them when they saw the slender man suddenly start kicking the other man without remorse.

* * *

That was a bad situation.

Tamura sighed out of relief when she noticed that she successfully got away. She didn't know what happened but it looked like Shigeo finally acted... while drunk. Rolling her eyes, she let out a huff. Kaede had explained to her the situation after she had introduced her to the two men and observed them. It appeared that Shigeo greatly cared for Koji but he didn't know how to exactly express his feelings. So... he often groped and flirted with the slender man while Koji remained unaffected from his advances since Shigeo did this to a number of people. He was a flirt. An idiot flirt. Now that he finally acted it... well, to put simply it pissed Koji off since he thought this was just a joke to the older man.

Rubbing her chin she stared ahead blankly. She hoped they worked it out.

Pausing, she looked up and blinked. Oh, she had been thinking before she ran into Koji. So she just needed to find someone and try to love them. But who? Closing her eyes she crossed her eyes and hummed lightly. It shouldn't be a friend. It would be weird if she started loving them romantically. Now loving them like a friend, she knew. Loving someone romantically was a whole other level. It had to be someone who wouldn't mind if she flat out asked them if she could practice loving them. Someone who was unperturbed. Someone that was indifferent, because she didn't want a relationship. Hmm... She didn't really know anyone _that_ indifferent.

Maybe she should ask Kuchiki Taicho?

Snorting loudly she soon started snickering to herself. What a joke. Okay, who should it be? Hm... Walking into the courtyard of the seventh division she paused before her mood improved drastically. Komamura Taicho! He was walking Goro. Smiling brightly, she jogged over towards the Taicho, watching as he paused and turned to face her. His features brightened, watching as the woman ran until she was in front of him.

He had many subordinates, but none that approached him so easily after being so scared of him in the beginning. She still hesitated every now and then, but since he had Goro she had probably come to greet him. Which seemed to ring true when she bent down and petted the dog with a smile.

"Shuya-san," He greeted, watching as she straightened up and saluted. "Would you like to accompany me?"

Tamura paused before she smiled brightly and nodded. Yes! She wanted to! He was walking Goro and he finally had some free time! She followed him, staying just a few steps behind because she wasn't stupid enough to think she was could walk beside him. He was a Taicho after all and she was a lowly... well, not maid. But she cleaned his office and swept the halls. She even took part of the training regimen when it suited her. Which wasn't often, but... yeah.

"Are you done for the day, Shuya-san?" Komamura spoke up, glancing down at the woman to see her jump and look up with a flustered face.

"Y-Yes, sir!" Tamura nodded, arms behind her back and looking the part of the shy woman.

Komamura could see that she was shy, maybe awkward in social situations. Maybe that was why he was fond of her, she reminded him of himself sometimes. Awkward, social inept, and self-conscious. And if anyone ever tried to take advantage of her... His face darkened as he glared ahead. They would never see the light of day again. She was something to treasure. To whoever managed to win her heart he hoped it wasn't someone like... Kurotsuchi. He shivered at the thought of this sweet woman ever loving that man. If she ever did and she wasn't careful that man might... experiment on her.

"Uh... are you all right, sir?" Tamura asked, furrowing her brows when she noticed the heavy air around the Taicho.

"Fine." Komamura gave a sharp nod, continuing with his walk that Goro was quite enjoying.

Looking up, he hesitated when he caught sight of someone. Without thinking he stepped in front of Shuya and put a protective air around himself. Tamura widened her eyes and dug her feet into the ground when she almost walked into Komamura Taicho's back. Wha—? Raising her head she stared at the Taicho worriedly. What's wrong? Did she do something bad? Was Goro doing his business? What?! Her nerves getting frazzled she peered around the large man and paused when she saw someone heading right for the Taicho.

"Zaraki." Komamura greeted tensely, eyes narrowed and back straight. He'd rather not have Shuya anywhere near this man. And if he knew this man then the only reason he would approach him...

"Komamura," Kenpachi smirked and rested his arm over the hilt of his sword. His gesture was clear. "I've asked before, but I've given you enough time." That bloodthirsty grin never failed to make the fur on his neck rise. "If you're still pissed off that I broke your mask you could—"

"I've declined before, Zaraki, and my answer remains the same," Komamura gave the man a stern glare. "If you feel the need to fight you can go patrolling in the districts. Do not approach the Taichos in combat."

Kenpachi scowled. "Ah, c'mon, ya fox-faced bastard, I _am_ trainin' like everyone else. Ya guys need ta relax with a good 'ol fight. I'm offerin'." He smirked and jiggled the hilt of his weapon like he could entice his fellow Taicho.

Tamura tensed and glared at the back of Komamura Taicho, eyes wide with rage. _Fox-faced what?!_ How dare he say that to Komamura Taicho! Someone as kind as him shouldn't have someone like _Zaraki Taicho_ talking down to him!

"C'mon, Koma-Koma, it'll be fun!" Yachiru grinned widely from her spot of Kenpachi's shoulder.

"I appreciate the... invitation, Zaraki, but my answer remains the same," Komamura's expression didn't change from the stern stare, making the Taicho and fukutaicho frown. He reached back and grabbed Shuya's arm when he sensed her trying to step around him. He could smell her agitation. "Go patrolling. It might remove some of the edge we have seen in you these last few months."

Kenpachi's frown grew. "Edge?" He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Whatever. If somethin' interestin' shows up then I'll go patrollin'."

Yachiru nodded with a grin before she coughed and sniffed.

That seemed to be the cue for the rough Taicho. He frowned and glanced at the pink-haired fukutaicho. She was coughing again. Fuck it. She said she was fine before, but she kept coughing. He had even felt her trying to stop herself from coughing by covering her mouth before. Right. To the fourth division they go... if he could find it.

"Fine. Ya know where my division is if ya ever change yer mind." He walked around the taller man and paused when he saw someone standing behind Komamura. The fuck?

He paused and sneered when he saw who it was. Well, look who it was. The little stuck-up bitch. Komamura had a woman. Who'd of thunk? The woman was glaring at him, making him roll his eyes when he walked past her. Please. As if someone like her could ever scare him. Now, if she was that old man Yama then sure, he might feel intimidated, but thankfully she wasn't. Come to think of it he should finish that pile of paperwork tonight. He might nag him otherwise.

"Asshole."

Kenpachi paused when he heard the mutter. He curled his lip in a snarl before he continued on. Bitch. Thankfully Yachiru didn't hear. She might bite that woman or something. And with Komamura there who knows what might happen... He paused. Wait, that might actually get him fighting. He was starting to consider it before Yachiru's coughing put him back on track. Fourth division.

Tamura glared after him, pursing her lips and huffing.

"I don't like him."

"Not many people do," Komamura replied, making the dark haired woman jump before she turned and looked up at him. "He is rash and does not bother to show people respect." He reached out and rested a large hand on the woman's head, making her blink before a goofy smile crossed her face. "It may be best to avoid him in the future."

Tamura's eyes were large and curious, looking so very innocent, before she smiled and nodded.

Komamura smiled in return.

* * *

**Ah, everyone can't help but feel that she's innocent. :D I'M SO VERY SORRY! QAQ I HAD WRITER'S BLOCK LIKE YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE, AND I ONLY RECENTLY HAD MY MUSE! DX**

**But I did it. :D So I'm happy. OwO**

**May 9, 2015**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N** I thank anyone for reading. :D Much appreciated.

**Momochan77**

**ShiftFrame**

**DeathKnight KiraKira**

**EbonySapphire**

**amgs**

**Rasne**

**RSMN**

**Dominus Maris**

**Storm of Spirits**

**Keiren-Kun89**

**Guest**

For a second I thought Shinji's given name was Hirako. XD

Y'know, what I realized four chapters in? This is set in the Summer, and heading straight into Fall. Right after they fought Aizen. Which means a year has almost went by already. O_O I originally set this a couple months after Ichigo lost his powers. XD

**Disclaimer** – I do not own Bleach.

**Warning** – Swearing.

* * *

-:-

* * *

Tamura didn't bother to hide the surprise on her face, staring at Hisoka as he bowed in front of her. She had jumped when Musashi had told her someone was asking for her and had gone to the front of the division. Now here he was bowing in front of her and asking for forgiveness with two friends standing behind him. Makoto was smirking, arms crossed over his chest and gazing at the woman with a strange look in his eyes. There was another man next to him... staring at her with a blank look. Okay, then...

"I'm very sorry... for what happened yesterday." Hisoka would have fell to his knees to give her a proper bow but Gorou had said that was going too far while Makoto encouraged it.

"Uh... it's okay..." Tamura frowned to herself uncomfortably. What was the protocol for this? Shake hands and smile?

"If..." Hisoka blushed lightly and gulped before smiling sheepishly. "If you would give me another chance...? I'll do it correctly this time I'll take you to a restaurant!" He bowed down again, this time falling to his knees and lowering his head to the ground. "Please!"

Tamura furrowed her brows, a frown still adorning her face. Whoa... Marasu said to pick someone to try and love... but she needed someone that was indifferent to this stuff so they wouldn't end up loving her. And Hisoka was nice, don't get her wrong, but... she didn't want a relationship. She was happy on her own. She didn't need anyone. Her answer seemed clear when Hisoka raised his head and gave a small frown.

"I... understand," He rose to his feet and rubbed the back of his head. "I made you feel uncomfortable on our date and—"

"N-No, that's not it!" Tamura waved her hands and grinned nervously. "I'm just not ready for a... romantic relationship right now!" She returned the bow, making the three before her jump lightly from the sudden action. "I'm very sorry!"

Hisoka sighed lightly as he furrowed his eyebrows. Well, he didn't see this coming. Maybe he should have... with the way she had acted during their date. He might have to speak with Kaede. Directing his gaze at the bowing woman he couldn't help but feel a little disheartened. Sure, she had been quiet during their time together, but... she was nice to talk to. Plus, she was cute. Always a bonus in his book. But, he couldn't force her into a relationship. Sad, but true.

Tamura stared at the ground, her heart beating rapidly. Please, don't be mad with her...

The hand held in front of her face disrupted her thoughts, causing her to blink and look upwards. Hisoka was smiling at her, holding his hand out towards her. Hesitating, she furrowed her brows in confusion and grabbed the hand. They shook hands, with the woman awkwardly staring at their joined hands. Was this... Was he trying to say he _wanted_ a relationship? Was that what this meant?

"I understand," Hisoka smiled, if somewhat sadly, and soon gave a grin. "I wouldn't mind being friends, if that's all right with you?"

Tamura blinked in surprise before she smiled. "Okay."

Makoto frowned and snorted lightly. That's sad. He was hoping for something more exciting. Like... she suddenly beats him up for a shitty date, stuff like that. Though, considering her reiatsu level, that wouldn't really do much. Pursing his lips he gave a small hum. Yeah, next to seated officers her reiatsu didn't really stand out. He watched as Hisoka talked with the woman before he turned his head to stare down at Gorou, soon giving a toothy grin when the shorter man sensed his stare. All his friend did was send him a flat stare before he turned and started walking away.

Kaede and Musashi watched from a window, watching as Hisoka bowed down towards their friend once again. Tamura jumped before she hastily returned the gesture, waving when the man walked away with his friends. The brunette frowned and turned to scowl in the distance at yet another failed relationship... sorta. Musashi on the other hand gave a huge sigh of relief. Good, she wasn't going to date someone from the fearsome eleventh.

Now, if it was someone from the twelfth on the other hand...

Nope, still scary.

They both hid when she walked back inside, holding onto the broom with a blank look on her face. Ah, there she goes. Their adorable, serious-looking yet innocent friend. Who was bound to live a lonely life without a significant other. Not that she was looking. Romantic stuff just didn't seem to interest her. She was curious about romantic relations, sure, but she didn't want to participate in them. It was kind of weird, but that was their little friend.

Musashi turned his head, blinking when Kaede smirked and snuck up towards their suspecting friend. With a loud "HI!" she jumped on her back, causing Tamura to scream in surprise and fall down due to their combined weight. Sighing lightly, Musashi gave a smile before he turned and walked away.

He'd rather be gone than watch them fight.

Well, not fight, more like... flailing around, sorta.

* * *

"Sick." Kenpachi didn't bother to hide the dangerous glint in his eyes, staring down at the nurse with a sneer.

"Y-Yes, sir," She gave a hesitant nod and examined the fukutaicho. "It seems she's had the flu for a couple days. Have you noticed anything off about her?"

He didn't listen. He was too busy glaring down at the pouting fukutaicho, who refused to make eye contact with him. She was sick? Was that why she stayed a couple feet from him? What the hell did she do two days ago? She had... She had been out with the Shinigami Women's Association. And if he remembered—from Yachiru's babbling—they had been outside for a midnight picnic, for some fucking reason.

Narrowing his eyes he barely acknowledged the nurse when she said she was going to go get medicine and left. All he did was stare at Yachiru in silence with a disapproving air surrounding him. And if her squirming meant anything it was that she was nervous. She knew she was in trouble. At one point she looked up and tried to smile at him, only to falter when he didn't lose his stance. The only reason he let her hang out with those women after the sun went down was because he trusted Kyoraku's fukutaicho to chaperone her and make sure shit like this didn't happen. He still remembered that time he tried letting Ikkaku watch her while he was taking a nap.

Only to walk into the mess hall to see her drinking fuckin' sake.

Ikkaku was sore for a week after that, while also nursing a broken arm.

Letting out a groan and rubbing his eyes he soon scowled at the door. What the hell should he do? He knew he had to punish her, but she was also sick. Taking care of that was a priority. Talking with her seemed good, but what should he say? Bad girl? He huffed lightly, turning his head when the nurse came back. Waiting while she did whatever she did, he looked around the room and ignored the woman when she murmured soothingly to the pouting fukutaicho.

After she was done and he was told what to do with her—looks like someone was going to be spending time in bed until she was better—he was walking out of the building with Yachiru now in the crook of his arm. Her arms were crossed as she continued to pout. Like hell he was going to let her hang off his shoulder when she's sick. She might fall off or something during one of her coughing fits.

When he heard giggling his eyes turned to the side to see a group of girls smiling at him while whispering that it was _so cute_ that he was carrying his fukutaicho. Rolling his eyes, he huffed and walked out of the division. Whatever. It wasn't different than her riding his shoulder. Women. Giggling at whatever caught their attention.

It took a while to get to his division, especially with Yachiru pointing which way to go, but he finally made it. Ignoring everyone that bowed when he passed he walked into his home with the little, pinked haired girl in his arms still pouting. She kept refusing that she was sick, that she was all right, that she could go out and play. Which didn't work, since she kept sneezing and coughing her lungs out. When she tried protesting again he reached up with his free hand and flicked her forehead. She yelped and grabbed her head, sending him a light glare.

"Shuddap, squirt." He rumbled, seeing the pink-haired girl purse her lips and look at her lap.

He sent her to bed, made sure she dressed herself in her sleeping kimono, and stayed to make sure she laid in bed. Which was going to be hard to do. Yachiru was older than any normal human, but since they aged slowly she still had the mindset of a five or six year old. Which meant she was active, more active than any human her age. So, in short, it was going to be a miracle if he kept her in bed.

He left the room and came back with a wet cloth, soon scowling and sending his fukutaicho a disapproving stare when he saw her trying to leave through her window. Yachiru sent him a sheepish grin, soon pouting and glaring at everything when he pointed at the bed. When she laid down she didn't react when he placed the wet cloth on her head, staring at him every now and then to make sure he left. Nope. Like hell that was happening.

So, to make sure she stayed where she was, he took off his haori and laid down next to her. Her futon was big, anyway, so it was comfortable.

Yachiru looked surprised before she crossed her arms and pouted some more, only to start coughing.

Kenpachi reached over and patted her side while she convulsed lightly before she calmed down. He smirked and tugged her close to his side, trapping her and making her pout appear once again. She tried pushing him again, but that only made him tighten his hold. Puffing out her cheeks, Yachiru looked away and glared at the ceiling. Ah, she can be grouchy all she wants, he's not letting her leave until she was one hundred percent better.

He stayed.

Besides, it was almost time for his afternoon nap. Kenpachi kept his eyes open, though, making sure Yachiru fell asleep before he followed. He didn't want her sneaking out. Blinking slowly, he watched as his little fukutaicho stared at the ceiling with drowsy eyes, yawning every few minutes, before her eyes slid shut and her breathing evened out. He stayed awake for ten minutes to make sure she really was asleep. He remembered one time she had pretended to be asleep for twenty whole minutes before he left and she ran out of the house.

Satisfied that she was sleeping he made himself comfortable and closed his eyes, asleep in just a few seconds.

* * *

_The Next Day_

* * *

Tamura blinked, staring at the map with a flat look on her face. Just a couple more hours and they'd be back in the Seireitei to do whatever.

She didn't have any talent. She'd love to have a talent in cooking, but all the recipes just made her head hurt. There were just so many to make that she got recipes mixed up and ruined whatever food she had intended to cook. She couldn't dance, but she love to hum. But get her singing and you'd wish she'd shut up. She was horrible, and she knew it. But she loved singing. It wasn't because she wanted to be a... pro or anything, it just calmed her down. And throughout all these amazing things people could do, there was one that made her valuable on the field whenever they had to deal with something in the Rukongai. Be it bandits or hollows.

She could track and navigate.

Tamura had noticed right after she arrived in the Soul Society. When she had been starving she saw tracks on the ground. It seemed fresh enough so she followed and managed to nab a rabbit. Score. But... she didn't know how to cook it. Which sucked a whole lot at the time. She'd look up at the sky and she'd be able to tell what time it was. The academy noticed when they went on field assignments(always supervised, of course) and they would always have her navigate, and ignored her panicked rejection. So, yeah, they sucked.

And right at this moment she was on a mission with Masaru and a team he was leading, from both the seventh and the eighth division.

She had just wanted to go clean and be done with the day, not go on a mission. She hated missions. They sucked. And since she was weak she was often left behind. Which was a plus in her book. But sometimes her friends requested her(like Masaru was doing now) to go on missions with them. Sometimes they were denied and sometimes they were granted.

Which sucked.

More.

Slowly, Tamura looked up with a flat look on her face, watching as Masaru stared down at the bandits that had been terrorizing the village. It was almost laughable how arrogant they were when they arrived, talking down to the fourth seat like he was the dirt under their shoes. All Masaru had done was give them a stare before he used kido to take down five of them in one go. That had the bandits scrambling. Some even had enough reiatsu for kido, but since they didn't go to the academy to harness their power all they could do was gather power in the palm of their hand and try to hit shinigami.

She didn't even know why Masaru asked for her, it was only an hour away from the Seireitei. Anyone could have led them here.

Masaru stared down at the bandits with a cold look in his eyes before he smirked nastily. "Now, you gentlemen," A woman glared at him. "and ladies, have a choice. You can come with us so we can lock up you _dangerous_ people," The sarcasm wasn't lost on anyone, and people sent him either exasperated stares(those who knew him) or glared at him(the bandits). "or you can choose to let me end your existence here." He clapped his hands together and chuckled. "...You have two minutes to decide. Though I personally recommend option two."

One of the bandits jumped up and ran towards him, face screwed up in anger, and tried to punch the shinigami. Masaru easily dodged the punch and kicked the man in the gut and elbowed the back of the man's head. He was unconscious when he hit the ground. Everything was silent as the bandits stared with wide eyes and gawked, glancing at each other uneasily. Some people from the seventh division sent the older man shocked stares. Masaru stared at the man with an unreadable expression until he looked up and gave a pleasant smile.

"...One minute."

In no time at all they were on their way back to the Seireitei, all the bandits following with sneers and grumbles.

Tamura trailed behind Masaru with a flat look on her face, glancing at the man in silence. This is why some people didn't like him. He taunted the enemies or treated them sadistically. She had heard one time he had used someone's own dagger to dig into a wound. He had twisted the danger until the man was screaming bloody murder and begging him to stop. An uneasy frown crossed Tamura's face. Eeeeggh...

"...So that was... normal?" Tamura asked, seeing the older man turn to look back.

"Hm?"

"Just... asking questions like _that_ to your opponents?" Tamura squinted, jogging a little because the tall idiot didn't care that he was walking too fast for her to keep up.

Masaru blinked. "I wouldn't call them opponents. More like... idiots that thought they could take on shinigami." He grinned widely past her, which made her turn and blink when she saw some of the bandits sneering nastily at the man. Well, he didn't care if anyone heard him. "Just ask anyone in the eighth division. You'll hear all kinds of stories of Kyoraku Taicho asking me to be nicer to bandits." He rolled his eyes and sneered. "Idiot."

Some of the subordinates of the eighth division sent him disapproving stares, only looking away when he looked at them.

Tamura sighed and shook her head lightly, having to jog again to keep up. If only he would slow down...! A scowl crossed her face when he refused to do such a thing.

She jumped and almost screamed when someone touched her shoulder, almost falling limp before she turned around and raised her eyebrows when it was someone from the same division. He stared at her curiously with his friend.

"You know that psycho, Shuya?" He motioned towards the fourth seat with an uneasy look.

Tamura blinked before she squinted. Two beats passed before she frowned. Nope, she didn't know who he was. "Uh, yeah. He's my friend."

They sent her shocked stares before they looked up. Only to pale and widen their eyes. Though he didn't bother looking at her, Masaru did know that Tamura was following by keeping track of her reiatsu. So when she stopped, so did he. He was currently glaring at the two young shinigami, face dark and face unreadable. They hesitated before they bowed their heads and moved back. Tamura frowned in confusion before she shrugged and turned around to following Masaru, who had started walking as soon as he saw her turn.

"So, my dear, have you decided if you want to fall in love?" Masaru decided to speak to her, holy crap. Can she get a picture to forever to remember this momen—wait, what?

Tamura was silent before she narrowed her eyes and sent him a suspicious stare. "If you're volunteering, then—"

Masaru turned and sent her a stern look, one that made her lower her head and scowl. Damn him for being older and her for listening to whatever older people told her to do. It was like they had magic or something, she did whatever they wanted. Evil bastards.

"Uh... I dunno?" Shrugging lightly, she decided to keep to herself that she was looking for someone to test this on. Love them for practice, just to see how it was. Then it'd finally be over and done with. Then she could concentrate on trying to use a skateboard. "How long do you think it takes to fall in love? Two days?" She wanted this done quickly. She'd look so cool riding around on a skateboard.

Masaru stopped and turned around, giving a look that asked if she was stupid. Tamura almost walked into him, veering to the left and waving her arms wildly before she fell and hit the ground.

"Dammit!"

Masaru rolled his eyes before he grabbed her arm and hauled her up, practically dragging her with him when he noticed that everyone had stopped(since he was leading) and stared at them in confusion. Tamura complained when that his grip was too tight and that he was walking too fast. As soon as he made sure they were far enough that people couldn't hear him he released her and matched his pace to hers. Tamura grabbed the spot that he had held, rubbing it and sending him a glare.

"Do you honestly think it takes only two days to fall in love with someone?" She had to be kidding. There was no way she was serious. But she was. Masaru watched in horror when she looked to the side and shrugged before nodding. "This is not something like taking a walk through a park."

Tamura stared up at him with large, confused eyes. "...Huh?"

He sighed and rubbed his face. "Go ahead, then." She would learn. "Go out and fall in love with someone. See how long it takes."

She frowned and furrowed her brows. "But I dunno what it's like to love someone. And what do you mean 'see how long it takes'? How long does it usually take? A week? A week and a half?"

He ignored her, making her frown when he glared ahead and huffed. Let someone else explain to the fool that it wasn't as easy as that. Foolish girl.

"Masaru! What does that mean...?!" Oh, wonderful. Now she was whining.

He ignored her the rest of the way back to the city, even when she whined his name loudly and tugged on his sleeve.

* * *

He ditched her when they came back, and didn't bother to explain to her what he had meant. Had said something about reporting to his superior, but as far as she knew he hated his boss. Well, not hate. More like... tolerated anyone he found extremely annoying. Which was practically everyone except for his wife. So yeah, he may not like Kyoraku Taicho, but because he was his superior, Masaru had to do whatever he said. Sucks to be him.

Seriously, though, he didn't need to be mean to her. She'll complain to Kaede as soon as she tries to... figure out whatever this was.

"I don't see why you can't just tell him you like him."

Tamura was at the sixth division, having walked there instead of her division. It's not like anyone would notice she didn't report to the Taicho. Right now she was staring down Kaede with a confused frown. The brunette was laying on the floor, covering her face with her hands and an air of depression hanging above her. Slowly she removed her hands and sent her a scowl, a look that didn't change Tamura's expression.

"He's the fifth seat." That was Kaede's only explanation.

The dark haired woman's eyes flicked to the side before she looked back. "So?"

"_So_... he wouldn't accept my love proposal!" Kaede covered her face with her arm and roll over with a scowl. "He broke up with his girlfriend and he hasn't even glanced my way!"

"How do you know?" Tamura continued to frown in confusion. "You haven't even talked to him right?" She paused and pulled a face. "How did you fall in love with him if you didn't even talk to him?"

"Whoa," Kaede pushed herself up and held her hands up with a grimace. "I'm not_ in_ love with him, that was just wordplay," Her friend made a face of confusion. "I like him enough to consider telling him how I feel, but not enough to fall right to his feet and declare undying love."

Oh... Well, damn. She thought she had found someone else to ask questions. "Then what are you going to do? He might find another girlfriend while you're here," She pointedly looked at her sitting on the floor. "...doing nothing."

Kaede scowled. "It's not easy."

Tamura pulled a face before she sat down beside her friend. "How so?" All she had to do was walk up to him and tell him she likes him. What's so hard about that?

Her friend rubbed her face with both hands before she ran them through her hair and sent her a look. "I keep forgetting you don't know stuff like this," Tamura stared at her blankly and raised her eyebrows slightly. "It's like..." She raised her arms and shrugged. "...like you!" Kaede saw her friend frown. "Like talking to someone you never met before. You want to, but you can't."

Tamura rubbed her chin and pursed her lips. Now that she described it like that, sure, she could get it. Maybe. Still confusing as heck, though. It was simple to her.

"...What d'ya mean you can't?"

"I just can't!" Kaede fell back and spread her arms with a pout. "He's too awesome for me."

"...How?"

"He's a fifth seat."

Tamura was silent, waiting for more. "..._And_...?"

"I'm not going to have to lecture you again, am I?" Kaede was satisfied when Tamura paled and shook her head. She soon let out a sigh and hung her head. "It's just... When I heard and walked up to him to tell him hello he just walked past me without a second glance." She rubbed the back of her neck and scowled. "Am I not pretty enough?"

Tamura frowned. "What do your looks have to do with it?"

Kaede sent her a shocked look. "Today's society has everything to do with looks!" She motioned towards the both of them. "I'd say we're pretty enough, but beautiful like Matsumoto fukutaicho? Man, I wish!" She waved her arms wildly, almost smacking her friend in the face. "If you're not beautiful enough you get tossed aside like a ragdoll! I need to be beautiful and have a smooth sailing life." She waved her arm slowly through the air, as if gesturing the 'smooth sailing life'.

Tamura's frown deepened. "But you _are_ beautiful," She received a curious stare from the brunette before the shorter friend motioned towards her. "I bet some other men would be interested in you instead of that Miyamoto guy." She paused and looked up before she grinned. "You ever heard of the expression, 'plenty of fish in the sea'?" Her friend gave a nod. "Then go eat fish and you'll be better."

Kaede was about to nod before she pulled a face. "That's not how the saying..." She trailed off, seeing her friend grinning at her. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair before she grinned. "All right, let's go eat."

Tamura perked up and stood up, already walking down the hallway. Kaede walked out of the room and jogged after her with a shake of her head, that grin still on her face. Ah, she'll forget about her guy problems for a moment. All she wanted to do was hug Tamura, which she did. Tamura struggled, flailing wildly while Kaede held on.

"Awww, whoever does manage to win your heart will be so lucky~!" Kaede grinned, tightening her hold.

All Tamura did was scowl and pull a face while she held onto the arms wrapped around her neck. Yeah, no thanks.

* * *

Grumble.

Bitch.

Muttering angrily under breath.

This is what the notorious Zaraki Kenpachi did as he walked towards where he _thought_ the first division was. Fucking meetings. He hated them. Hated them with a passion. All they did nowadays was talk about crap and plan in case some shit happened. That friggin' Kurotsuchi thought of plans, back-up plans, and all that shit. Hell, he even took in account of what happened should _he_ suddenly decide he was tired of this and decided to go rogue. He rolled his eyes and sighed, walking around the corner and scowling when he saw _another. Fucking. Dead. End._ Huffing irritably under his breath he turned and continued on. If Yachiru was here he'd have a higher chance of finding the damn place.

But since she was sick, that was a no.

Like hell he was going to let her go out while she was sick. It made it easier on the troops since they could relax. She had a tendency to jump on people and pull hair or run after them until they were gasping and panting from how hard they were running from her. One even had to be admitted into the fourth division... He had asthma.

When he walked around the corner, he rolled his eyes and sighed in relief when he finally found the damn building. They should make a friggin' map of this damn city. He's been here for a while and he still hasn't learned the damn streets. People bowed as he walked past, though he ignored them in favor of reaching the building to get this meeting over and done with. He had other things in mind. Like napping. And making sure Yachiru didn't run off. He wouldn't be surprised if she did, but hopefully she'd still he asleep by the time he got back.

When he walked into the 'waiting room', where the Taichos stayed until called in by the Soutaicho, he slowed to a stop and scowled when he saw Hirako Shinji grinning at him. The reason he was probably fucking grinning was that he was the last one there... _again_. He ignored that stupid shit-eating grin as he walked past, turning his head when Kyoraku walked towards him with a warm smile.

"Hello, Zaraki-san~!" He greeted happily, receiving a grunt from the tall man. "How is the day for you so far?" He gave a kind smile before he raised his eyebrows and leaned forward. "I heard Yachiru-chan was sick."

Kenpachi snorted and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, she is."

"Aw, poor thing," Kyoraku cooed, furrowing his eyebrows and pursing his lips. Kenpachi gave him a flat stare for the look and rolled his eyes, which just made the brunet pout. "Well, I can come on by later and drop off some snacks for her." He gave a wide smile.

"Eh," Kenpachi made a face and waved his hand. "Ya might wanna wait 'til she's better. I don't want her eating sweets 'til she's back to a hundred percent."

"Well, well, well~!" Shinji chose that moment to interrupt their talk, swaggering on over with a shit-eating grin. "Who knew that "_Ken-chan_" was such a tough parent?" He started snickering, ignoring the deadly glare he received from the taller man. "What's next? No going outside at all 'til she can talk without coughin'?"

Kenpachi stayed silent and continued to glare, which made Hirako raise his eyebrows and start snickering.

"Hehehe," He held up his hands to show he meant no offence when the tall, deadly man took a step towards him and sent Kyoraku a grateful nod when he held a hand up in front of Kenpachi. "I wouldn't have found out _so_ much 'bout ya guys if I just stayed in the World of the Living." His grin didn't diminish at all.

Which just made Kenpachi want to deck him.

Before he could try and bribe Kyoraku and get a hit in the door opened, which made him roll his eyes and send the blond a sneer. Turning and walking into the room he took his place across from Hitsugaya and Kurotsuchi. He looked around the room lazily, hearing the old man greet them and start the meeting. He turned his head, pausing when he saw Shinji _still. Fucking. Grinning at him!_ His face twisted into a sneer, one that made Shinji raise his eyebrows and look somewhere else. Who thought it was a good idea to get these friggin' bastards back in the Soul Society? Stupid shits.

He wouldn't say he hated them, no, more like he tolerated them. The new guy of the third division(Otoribachi Rojuro)—the division Ichimaru had run—was an okay guy. As long as he wasn't anything like Hirako. He didn't know these bastards other than that Aizen had used them in an experiment. And if he was honest, he didn't care. All he cared about was whether they were strong or... hell, loyal to the Soul Society.

But fuck Hirako, the little shit.

He can take that grin and shove it up his own arse.

He was brought back into the meeting when Kensei nudged him, which made him give him a glare. He didn't trust these bastards, they were going to have to earn that. Hell, he'd rather Ukitake elbow him than this son of a bitch. He knew who Ukitake was, after all. Rolling his eyes with a scoff, after having seen Kensei give him an unimpressed stare, he listened to old man Yamamoto drawl on.

"There is a situation in the Rukongai. In the South districts," Yamamoto ignored Hirako when he rolled his eyes and snorted(he was going to have to have a talk with him about these rude manners). "A hollow, and from what the villagers are saying they say it could be a Vasto Lorde."

Kenpachi turned his head at that, widening his eyes and giving a dark grin. Everyone who knew him didn't even glance at him, already knowing that he'd volunteer for something like this. And since Kensei, Rose, and Shinji didn't know him they shifted uneasily at the bloodthirsty grin on his face.

"Souls from the Rukongai wouldn't be able to judge such a thing." Hitsugaya said, eyes narrowed and back straight.

"They said it was strong, who cares?" Kenpachi sent the short Taicho a scowl, which was returned.

"For all we know it could be a mere Menos Grande," Kyoraku tilted his hat up and blinked lazily. "But it would be best to send someone of fukutaicho class, no?"

"Given the information we have it would be best if we send one of you," Yamamoto said, receiving surprised stares from the group of strongest souls in the Seireitei. "Is there anyone that would like to volunteer?" He wouldn't say it, but he gave the Taicho from the eleventh division a side-stare.

And sure enough, Kenpachi gained a wide grin and stepped forward. "I'll kill it."

"Your fukutaicho is sick, is she not?" Unohana spoke out politely, receiving a glare from her protege. "How will you find your way?" Not that they might even with her help.

...Fuck.

That actually stumped him.

He frowned and gave a small shrug. "I can find it myself."

He didn't mean to, really. Honest. But Kyoraku started chuckling as soon as the words left his mouth, reaching up to cover the grin on his face. Too bad he wasn't fast enough to shut himself up. Kenpachi sent him a glower when he heard the laughter, growling under his breath when Kyoraku sent him an apologetic smile. He should be fucking glad that he sees him as a drinking friend.

"Very well," The Soutaicho received wide-eyed stares, some gawking openly at the man. Was he really going to let him go by himself. "As soon as you find a navigator, then I will give you the mission."

Kenpachi blinked before he scowled. "I can find my own way."

"I will give this mission to someone else, unless you find a navigator by tomorrow," And if that tone wasn't fucking authoritative enough, old man Yama opened his eyes just the slightest and sent the man a stern glare. Kenpachi almost backed down. "Do I make myself clear?"

Fucking... old man... "Yeah. I hear ya." He stepped back and glared ahead, growling under his breath.

He should have felt glad he was starting to make Kensei uncertain, if those glances thrown his way meant anything. But all he felt right now was pissed off. Stupid old man. Does no one trust his sense of direction to find that hollow? He snorted lightly under his breath. Yeah, right. They'd rather follow Aizen before they trust him to lead the way. It was always like this. Even when they teamed up against some enemies he usually followed someone because he trusted that they knew which way to go.

When the meeting was adjourned he walked out before anyone else, too pissed off to even try and be respectful towards the old bastard. And the old man knew it, since he could feel someone watching him walk out of the meeting room. Some of the fukutaicho were waiting, bowing respectively as he walked past. He had almost expected to see Yachiru—and she better still be sleeping. When he walked out of the first division, he almost walked into someone. They veered off to the right, yelping when they fell to the ground.

He huffed when he saw who it was.

Komamura's little woman.

He didn't even bother helping her up when she glared up at him, walking past and huffing angrily.

"Hey, watch it, dude!" Kaede spoke up without even looking at the Taicho, turning to glare and paling. She turned and stared at her friend with horror in her eyes. "You almost walked into Zaraki Taicho...!"

Tamura stared past her, eyes wide. "At least he's not glaring at me now."

Kaede furrowed her brows in confusion, turning her head and tensing when she saw Zaraki Taicho glaring at her darkly not even three meters away. A nervous grin crossed her face, laughing nervously and picking her friend up. She stuttered when she saw the sheer anger swirling around the man. Literally. He must have been pissed to be leaking out reiatsu.

"I don't need to listen ta two useless women." Kenpachi didn't even bother with caring when he saw the indignant stares thrown his way.

"I'm not useless!" Kaede was hopping mad now! Useless?! She'll show him useless! "I help in the field when I'm sent out, buddy!" She shook a fist and almost quailed when she was under his stare again.

"I'm not useless, either!" Tamura nearly snarled, shoulders shaking in anger and not noticing Komamura approaching from behind. "I'm a navigator when I'm out on missions, you... you... _asshole!_" She finally yelled, eyes wide with rage and teeth gnashed together. "I'm more useful than _you_, you... idiot with no sense of direction!" It was such a stupid insult, but it was true when it came to direction.

Their anger only grew when Zaraki Taicho snorted and gave them an unimpressed glare and moved on. Kaede gave an angry shout, stomping her foot and cursing that man every word she knew and turned around to start a tantrum and froze when she saw Komamura Taicho standing behind Tamura. She only paled further when she saw Kuchiki Taicho walking towards her and sending her a disapproving stare. She bowed and stared wide-eyed at the ground, receiving a confused look from Tamura. Finally, the raven haired woman turned and blinked, jumping violently when she saw her Taicho.

"Komamura Taicho!" She bowed, as well. Holy crap. She yelled at another Taicho in front of hers. Eeeghhh...

When she straightened up she blinked when a large hand was placed on her head, pausing before she peeked around his hand to see Komamura sending her a warm stare. Kaede stared at them, waiting to say goodbye and accompany Kuchiki Taicho back to the division.

"It is fine, Shuya-san," He removed his hand, receiving curious stares from his fellow Taicho and ignoring them. "That man has angered many people while he has resided in this city. Do not take offence to any thing he has to say."

Tamura snorted under her breath.

She didn't doubt that.

"Now, come," Komamura gave her a nod and started walking, waiting for his subordinate. "I believe a cup of tea will help calm you."

Tamura stared after him and gave a wide smile, waving to Kaede as she ran to keep up with her Taicho. Ahh, she wanted to hug him! Her arms twitched, wanting nothing more than to wrap her arms around the fluffy Taicho. Or even his arm. She grinned happily as she trailed behind the tall Taicho.

* * *

Humph.

Why couldn't Yachiru wait to get sick another week? Why this week? Kenpachi huffed under his breath and turned away from the dead end. They could be having fun right now! They could be heading into the Rukongai and finding that supposed Vasto Lorde. He didn't trust anything someone from the Rukongai said. How would they even know how strong a Vasto Lorde is? They've never met one. But that didn't mean this wouldn't blow off steam, which is exactly what he needed. So, he'd travel into the Rukongai, after making sure Yumichika and Ikkaku—mostly Yumichika—would watch after Yachiru. He didn't want her getting worse, after all.

He just needed to find someone to lead the way. They knew which district most of the complaints came from, so they only needed to go there and then he'd have his fight. And maybe relax by finding some small fry on the way. Though he'd much rather have his little navigator. His other navigator, besides Yachiru, was in the fourth division. It wasn't _his_ fault that he was too slow to get out of the way when he went running into the courtyard.

Though it _was_ funny when he went flying and went right into the building.

Navigator...

A Navigator...

Who the hell could lead him out there...?

He stopped in the middle of the street, staring right ahead and giving a blink. He turned around to stare in the direction of the first division, where Komamura's chick had been standing and yelling at him. She popped into his head, and what she had been yelling...

A navigator.

He turned, eyes narrowed and face screwed into a scowl as he tried to find the seventh division.

Hell, he wasn't going to let this opportunity to have some fun pass him by.

* * *

**Just so everyone knows, _yes_, this was my plan. To send them into the Rukongai. But I was going to drag it out for a few more chapters and I couldn't. I'm going to be truthful, it might take a long time for the next chapter to come out. Which also includes my other stories. :( I can't find the drive to write the next chapters to anything! D: The only way I was able to finish this is that I slowly wrote the chapter down!**

**I even forgot some things. O_O Like Rukongai, districts, trying to write reiatsu. XD**

**I'm so sorry, guys. QAQ **

**October 29, 2015**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N** Thanks for reading.

Whoo, new chapter.

I'm so sorry this took so long to finish. QAQ This is kind of a boring chapter, but it was what my head came up with. OwO I'm mostly looking forward to after they finish the mission.

**Disclaimer** – I do not own Bleach.

**Warning** – Swearing.

* * *

-:-

* * *

It took him a while to find Komamura's office, and it had hurt his pride to ask someone where the hell it was. He hated this city, the fact that he couldn't find shit. It was worse than the Rukongai. At least in the Rukon districts he just wandered aimlessly with no destination in mind, but here he had to make fuckin' guesses!

Growling under his breath he slid the door open, causing some people behind the door(that were about to exit) to scream in surprise. They backed away quickly when he continued on as if they weren't there. And again, he had to ask where the hell the damn office was. The idiot he asked was so overcome and scared that he had passed out after he gave the instructions.

So when he found the office he slid it open without waiting for permission and didn't react when he received a surprised stare from Komamura, which was soon followed by a disapproving one. Wolf-face can get all uppity he wants, he's just here to ask a question.

"Zaraki." At least Komamura tried greeting him, not that he cared.

"I need your woman." Kenpachi said, closing the door behind him and gazing at his fellow Taicho with a scowl.

Komamura went silent, processing his words and sputtering in confusion.

He had done what he told Shuya, he had made tea for her and spoke to her(with her being silent and gazing at him with a shy smile) and sent her on her way as soon as she calmed down and said she was fine. Not without patting her head first, but he assumed that she went and had started her duties of cleaning.

He stood up, holding up his hands and stared wide-eyed at his fellow Taicho. "Y-You must be mistaken, Zaraki! Shu-Shuya-san and I have a strictly professional relationship!" He almost yelped when he got the last word out, completely flustered at the thought of any kind of romantic relation. He went rigid and stood straight and sent Zaraki a pointed stare. "And she is _not_ interested in such things!"

Kenpachi rolled his eyes. "I don't wanna have sex with her," Like he'd be interested in a high and mighty little bitch. "I need her for the mission." He crossed his arms and sent Komamura a scowl, watching in silence when he blinked.

"Why? Do you not have your navigator?" Komamura sent him a suspicious glare, clenching his hands into fists by his sides. Looking like the powerful Taicho everyone saw him as.

"He's outta commission," Kenpachi chose not to mention that he was the one that put him out of commission. "And Yachiru's sick, so she can't come with me." He soon gained a toothy grin. "So, I figured that since ya don't use her then ya can lend her to me."

"_Use_ her?" Komamura asked lowly, narrowing his eyes and walking around his desk. Kenpachi rolled his eyes. Ah, shit. He pissed him off. "She offers help on missions, I don't use any of my subordinates as training dummies like you do."

"What I do with my 'subordinates' is my own business," Kenpachi scowled and started glaring, hand unconsciously going to the handle of his sword. "Either I can take her with me so she can show me where the hell ta go or—"

"Or what?" Komamura towered over Kenpachi, both powerful shinigami glaring at each other.

The atmosphere was tense. Neither backing down from their staring contest. Komamura was furious that Zaraki was arrogant enough to think he would lend him the services of one of his subordinates while Kenpachi was pissed from all the frustration of not having a decent fight in months. It took about three minutes before they both calmed down enough for Kenpachi to turn and leave the office with a snarl. Komamura let him go and shook his head lightly.

Even if he did grant Zaraki's wishes he doubted Shuya would even go with him.

He reached up and rubbed his face, letting out a bigger sigh and turning to finish the paperwork. Until more came in, that is.

Down the hallway, Kenpachi was snarling and was practically shoving people aside with his reiatsu. People cowered when they saw him and kept their heads down as if they thought he would attack them if they so much as made eye contact. He snorted. Yeah, right. They'd be too weak to go against him.

He needed a fight.

A long fight, against anything. Preferably with a fellow Taicho. Preferably with Kuchiki-hime.

Yeah, that'd be nice.

A fight or having fun in the sack.

When he rounded the corner, deciding to try and find his own way out of the division instead of asking for help, he paused when he saw the little 'navigator' sweeping the halls with a slightly vacant expression. Deep in her thoughts. He scowled and marched on, about to walk past, when she turned and went rigid when she saw him. He saw her surprised expression and then lowered her head, as the other weaklings did. He sneered when he walked by, watching as she slowly relaxed and started sweeping.

But the thought of being able to fight... For fuck, it was so close! He only needed a navigator. And one was right behind him! Growling lowly, he slowed to a stop and started glaring ahead with an expression scary enough to make everyone in the hall 'eep' and move to the walls.

Fuck it.

He turned and marched towards the woman, seeing her lift her head and turn around. Brown irises stared back at him before she widened her eyes and grimaced when he approached her. She was small, compared to him. A whole foot shorter. She stared up at him in shock, a nervous grin starting to cross her face.

"I-Is there something you need... Zaraki Taicho?" She asked with politeness everyone needed when addressing a high-seated officer.

"I need ya," Wait, fuck. He needed to clarify. He saw her face go blank before she reared back and stared at him with wide eyes. "For a mission." He didn't _need_ her, he'd rather have Yachiru. But her health came first before fun. Now the woman was staring at him in confusion, waiting for him to go on. "To the Rukongai."

Tamura stared at him for a moment, brow furrowed as the fearsome Taicho of the eleventh stared down at her in distaste. "Oh, uh... I-I need Komamura Taicho to give me orders, but... okay...?" She gave a small frown. She'd rather not go. Inwardly, she wondered why her Taicho would even let her go on a mission with Zaraki Taicho. Didn't they hate each other? Or... just didn't like each others' company to the point their couldn't even stay in the same room for long. "When...?"

Kenpachi resisted the urge to smirk. He should've gone to her first. Sure, she'll need to go to Komamura to confirm that she had a mission, but that was a problem to deal with in the future. "Tomorrow," He gained a wide grin, one that didn't seem to faze her. All she did was widen her eyes and mouth 'tomorrow?' while he continued to bask in his small victory. "At dawn."

Tamura's eyes grew bigger. "_Dawn?!_" She whined, loudly. But she didn't care. Why dawn? Why couldn't they leave in the afternoon?! Scowling, she glared at the wall and gave a curt nod. "All right... Zaraki Taicho..." He didn't miss the look of distaste she sent his way. Huh, well fuck her, then. "I'll... go talk to Komamura Taicho about the mission and meet you at..."

When she stared at him in silence he realized she was waiting for him to say which gate. "South district." She was still giving him an odd stare, and he didn't bother giving her any other expression than the one he had on. Which would have told anyone he saw to fuck off. "An' I already told 'im so ya just need ta show up."

Tamura frowned in confusion and hesitated before she slowly nodded. "Uh... yes, sir."

He waited until she nodded before he turned and walked down the hallway with a grin.

Fuck yeah.

* * *

That was... weird.

Tamura frowned, watching as the terrifying man grew farther away... and went in the wrong direction. If he wanted to leave, he had to go the opposite hallway he went down. She scratched her head, seeing some people turn to stare at her sympathetically. And since she didn't really know any of them none bothered to approach her.

Why would she be paired with him? Didn't he have someone else to lead him?

Eyebrows still furrowed she went back to work and tried putting it out of her mind. All right, then. She made a mental list of things to bring while she did her duties. Can't forget a blanket.

* * *

Ikkaku didn't even jump when the Taicho slammed the door open. He lifted his head from his magazine and gazed at the tall man with a bored expression, mildly noting the satisfied grin on his face. Either he had a good lay or he had a good fight. He was betting on the former, since he didn't feel any fluctuating reiatsu from his Taicho.

"What's up?" Ikkaku grunted out while he shifted to get into a more comfortable position.

"I'm goin' on the mission," Kenpachi sauntered into his office and wandered over to the other occupied couch. He looked over the side to see Yachiru curled up with her thumb in her mouth. "She wake up at all since I left?"

"Nah, she only rolled over," Ikkaku looked over at the doting father and smirked. "What do ya mean yer goin'? Did ya find someone to lead you there?" He quirked a brow and was glad that the Taicho was so laid back. Any other Taicho and they'd be all high and mighty and demand respect.

"Yeah, a tiny thing," Kenpachi shrugged and huffed lightly. "The woman that snapped at me in the mess hall."

Ikkaku raised his eyebrows and hummed lightly. "That girl? Ya sure that's safe? She might claw at ya this time." He gave a wide smirk and snickered.

Kenpachi gave him an unimpressed stare before he looked at his desk and sighed irritably. Fuck. He stared at the paperwork in dismay before he trudged over to his desk with a scowl. Oh, he can do paperwork. He just chooses not to. The thought of signing and reading over papers all afternoon didn't appeal to him. Fun was more important than work, a rule that his subordinates appreciated. It was better that his troops were relaxed and kept themselves in shape with daily training exercises. Which they liked.

What they disliked was when _he_ joined in on the training sessions.

Kenpachi smirked for a moment before he sat down and grabbed the first form. He only looked up briefly when Yumichika arrived and went back to work. Yumichika and Ikkaku cracked a joke, again, whenever they saw him working(bastards) but they were quiet. He'd rather them be quiet so they didn't wake up Yachiru. Come to think of it, he'd need to come up with some plans before he left her here.

When to feed her and whatnot, how much candy she can have(because if he told her she can't have anything then she'd find _some_ way to get candy) and when to go to bed.

She might throw a fit to find out he was leaving her here, but if he wanted to relax and concentrate on getting stronger, he just needed to go all out on something. Hell, he wouldn't even care if it's a low-levelled hollow. Anything's better than just wandering around and growling. Besides, she was sick.

She knew she couldn't go out if she was sick.

The afternoon was spent in silence, surprisingly, with Yumichika and Ikkaku murmuring quietly with each other as to not wake Yachiru and Kenpachi staring frustratingly at the piles of paperwork.

If only she had stayed asleep until he left.

He knew he wasn't going to leave until he explained the situation to her, but... When she woke up he looked up and smirked when he saw her looking around the office blearily. When Yachiru looked at him she gave him a tired smile and instantly coughed. Well, that was a sign that he was done for the day. He glanced at the paperwork and frowned in distaste, grabbing the papers and straightening them up. Since he knew Yumichika would work on them as soon as he left.

The bastard didn't know how to have fun.

He stood up, and gave a small groan when he heard a crack, and stretched for a moment before he walked on over to his fukutaicho. Yachiru stared at him as he drew close and held her arms out. Another smirk crossed his face before he bent down and picked her up and put her in the crook of his arm.

"All right, 'm goin' home," Kenpachi grunted and stared down at his third and fifth seat. They stared at him and nodded with bored looks on their faces. "I'll be back tomorrow an' drop her off."

Yachiru blinked and stared up at him. "Are you going somewhere, Ken-chan?"

They each winced and stared at the fukutaicho uncomfortably. Shit. Yumichika and Ikkaku gave him sympathetic stares as he walked towards the door and tried to hold off on the conversation. But Yachiru could sense when someone was holding information from her. It made it a bitch when he was raising her. He ignored her for the most part, but couldn't really do anything when she started tugging on his clothes and whined up at him. When they finally arrived he opened the door and shut it behind himself with his foot and then walked right up to the room.

Yachiru continued to snap at him and asked where he was going when he set her on her futon and told her to stay put. When he left and came back he scowled when he saw her walk down the hallway with tired eyes.

"Little brat," He grumbled, picking up his tiny fukutaicho and walking right back to her room. He was almost tempted to call off the mission with how weak she was. But Yachiru overcame shit worse than colds. "Hold still." He set her back down and wiped her face and hands with the cloth.

"Where are you going, Ken-chan?" Yachiru gave him a glare and let him continue to clean her.

Ah, fuck. "...I'm goin' on a mission tomorrow," He readied himself when he saw Yachiru brighten up. "By myself."

And right there.

Yachiru tensed up and sent him a look of betrayal. She had a talent of making him feel like shit. She snatched her hands away and stared at him angrily, pushing him away when she stood up and he tried making her sit back down. Kenpachi scowled and rolled his eyes. Oh, boy.

"Why?! I'm good to go, too!" Yachiru stomped her foot and almost fell, and just got even more ruffled when he helped her and made sure she didn't fall. "I wanna go, too! Let me go, Ken-chan!" She yelled right in his face.

Kenpachi moved back and gave a deep sigh. "I can't. Even if I wanted to take ya, the Taicho of the fourth would make sure ya stayed, with ya bein' sick an' all," And she would. There had been a time when Yachiru got sick, again, and he brought her outside and to a meeting. She almost chewed his head off when she saw Yachiru. Sometimes he wished he didn't respect her. "Ya would only get worse if I took ya out there."

"No, I wouldn't!" Yachiru yelled, stomping her foot repeatedly. If she wasn't careful she was going to make a hole in the floor. "How are you going to find your way?! Ken-chan's just going to get lost!"

Ah, fuck.

He couldn't maintain eye-contact so he looked away and frowned. "...'m bringin' someone with me."

Yachiru gave a loud, scandalized gasp. "_Ken-chan!_" She yelled it like she had caught him doing something horrible. And this is why he didn't want to tell her, but crap, he couldn't lie to her. "I... I _hate_ you!"

Kenpachi gave a sigh when she stared at him with teary eyes and laid down and pulled the blanket over her head. Fuck. He moved so that he was sitting and just... sat there. Waiting for her to finish this little tantrum. If he said that out loud, no doubt she would punch him. He didn't know how long he waited, but he mentally went over what he needed to take while he waited for Yachiru to talk to him.

"Who?" He turned his head to see Yachiru peeking at him from under the blanket.

"Hm?"

Yachiru narrowed her eyes. "Who are you going with?"

"Just some lil' woman," He waved his hand dismissively. "Just picked her up from the seventh. Don't know her name." Crap, he was going to need her name if he was going on the mission, wasn't he?

"...Just once?"

Kenpachi blinked. "Yeah, just this once." He didn't really look forward to another mission with the girl. No, thanks.

Yachiru continued to stare at him before she lifted the blanket. Kenpachi smirked. It seemed like he was forgiven, for now. But he took her offering and crawled under the blanket with her. She snuggled up to him and huffed. The smirk didn't leave his face, and he got hit for it.

"I'll be back before ya know it, Yachiru," He murmured, rubbing his fukutaicho's back soothingly while she pouted drowsily. "I won't go on another mission without ya."

"Good." Yachiru's eyes were closed.

He waited for a while, probably fifteen minutes before he sat up and covered Yachiru. Well, while she was sleeping he'd better get ready. Kenpachi ruffled Yachiru's hair before he stood up and silently walked out of the room.

* * *

"A mission?" Kaede asked, glancing at her friend with a curious frown.

"Yeah," Tamura paused and glanced at her friend to see her trying to open her treat with a frown. Should she tell her who she was going with? She stayed silent before deciding, what the hell, go for it. "It's with Zaraki Taicho."

Kaede ripped the wrapper and sent the treat to the ground, wide eyes trained onto her friend and jaw open. Tamura stared at the food on the ground. That was a waste. She was about to comment on that when Kaede grabbed her shoulders and stared at her in horror. Tamura stared back with wide eyes.

"_Zaraki Taicho?!_ You're going with _him?!_" Kaede reached up as if to cover her mouth and gawked at her friend. "Why him?!"

Tamura shrugged. "I dunno," She inwardly grinned at the annoyed look Kaede gave her. "I've just bee given orders to go the south gate in the morning."

"But why on such short notice?" Kaede crossed her arms and frowned suspiciously. "And he just... _told_ you to go there?"

Tamura nodded. "Yup."

She didn't know why Kaede looked so suspicious, it was an order so she was going to follow it. She turned and walked away, hearing Kaede scramble to clean up her food and run after her. She needed to buy food for the trip. Zaraki Taicho hadn't said how long it would take, but hopefully no more than a week. It actually depended on where they were going.

Kaede trailed after her and asked what kind of food she planned on buying. She didn't really know, she hadn't been on a mission that lasted more than a week. And when she had been in the Rukongai she ate whatever she found. She assumed that's what was going to happen when they left. She looked at the food and bought anything that wouldn't spoil too quickly and didn't buy much else. Though she did buy some candy.

A grin was on her face when she bought it, and scowled when she saw Kaede smirking at her. What? She can have candy. She still had money to last the rest of the month.

"Are you sure you want to go with_ Zaraki Taicho?_" Kaede pulled a face as she said his name and shuddered.

"I don't _want_ to, but it's an order," Tamura shrugged and faced forward with a bored look on upon her face. "And the faster we get it done the faster we can get back and I'll never talk to him again." She turned and gave a thumbs up with a grin.

Kaede stared at the thumb flatly and opened her mouth. "Uh... yeah... B-But what if he... I dunno, takes advantage of you or something?" She stared at her worriedly and furrowed her brows.

Tamura jerked and gave her a surprised stare. "Zaraki Taicho is intimidating, but he wouldn't do _that!_" And she firmly believed it. Someone like him didn't seem like one of those people. "What's wrong with you?" She crossed her arms and gave her friend a glare, tapping her foot, as well.

"I'm sorry, but when you find out your tiny friend—" Tamura's glare grew darker. "—is going to go on a mission all alone with a big guy you tend to worry!" Kaede reached up and rubbed her face. "Just promise me something, all right? And I won't say things like that about Zaraki Taicho."

Tamura narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What?"

"If he offers to give you a 'fun time' don't accept it."

Tamura gave her a flat stare and turned around to walk away. Kaede sniggered behind her when she saw her reaction and ran to catch up with her. They still needed to buy more supplies for her, after all. Tamura scowled when Kaede wrapped an arm around her shoulders and grinned down at her, huffing and elbowing her side sharply.

A yelp rang around the area.

* * *

When she woke up... well, to be honest, she let out a curse and kicked her blanket away irritably. First thing in the morning... Pssh, why the hell did they have to wake up first thing in the morning? A scowl crossed Tamura's face before she gave a great, big yawn and was tempted to roll over and go back to sleep. But this was an order. So... She pulled herself up, glanced briefly at her pack to see if she _had_ packed it and not imagined it, and got dressed slowly. She did it absentmindedly, still half-asleep and looking outside to see the sun getting ready to say hello.

She flipped it off.

Tamura fixed her clothes, made sure they were on properly, and grabbed her pack and tied it on. Opening the door she let out another yawn and almost walked into the door. Grumbling to herself, she gave the door and glare and wandered down the hallway.

Some people woke up earlier than others, and she waved at them when they walked by silently since everyone was still sleeping. Like she should be.

But noooo.

A scowl crossed her face when she walked towards the Taicho's office and walked in. No one was there. Most likely sleeping. Tamura walked towards the desk and placed a letter on it, telling Komamura Taicho that she would sign any paperwork when she would come back. And who knew when that would be. It didn't take long to reach outside, a moment or two, and she scowled. She looked at the dark sky with lidded eyes and took a deep breath. She shivered when the cold air touched her skin and was reminded how early it was. Wrapping her arms around herself, Tamura kept grumbling when she was down the steps and towards the gate of the seventh division.

"Stupid... tall man..." Tamura walked down the street and towards the south gates.

And wow, look at that. No one was out.

She huffed and jumped a little to get her blood pumping and hoping to warm up. The last time she woke up so early was because someone had burned something and almost started a fire.

Tamura felt like a bitter, old lady. She rubbed her arms and glared ahead as she wandered through the streets and reached the gate.

And no one was there.

Slowly she tapped her fingers against her upper arm and started to shake in anger. Calm down. She took a deep breath and stared glaring ahead angrily. It didn't take long until she was tapping her foot and keeping her fists by her sides. She couldn't punch worth anything, and if she did she might hurt herself. She, truthfully, had a short temper, but it would be rude to snap at anyone so she often tried calming herself down.

She paused and gave the guardian a shy smile when she noticed he was staring in her direction. All he did was give a nod. Tamura smiled before she glared ahead and turned her head when she saw movement.

Finally.

Kenpachi walked towards the gate and inwardly sighed out of relief. Finally. He had dropped off Yachiru with Ikkaku and Yumichika, and hopefully she doesn't throw a tantrum when she wakes up and realizes that he's gone. But that was just wishful thinking. Of course she was going to throw a tantrum. But here's hoping that the tantrum will tire her out and she'll go right back to bed.

He glanced at the navigator, seeing her turn and stare at him with annoyance. Ignoring her he grunted at her to hurry up when he walked past. He missed the glare she sent him before she did as he ordered and followed.

Everyone in the nearby village was asleep when they walked through, thankfully. He'd rather not have some idiots gawking at him. Everyone that lived in the Rukongai either hated shinigami, were awed by them, or were indifferent. And unfortunately everyone knew what a Taicho looked like, thanks to the haori. Plus a Taicho just gave off this aura that they were powerful.

"Where do we go?" Kenpachi stopped and turned back to stare at the woman.

Tamura frowned and gave him a stare, one that he didn't care for. "...Where are we going?"

Shit. Where was it again...? "Seventy-ninth."

Her eyes popped wide open and she gawked at him, which made him huff in slight amusement. She pulled out a map and stared at it with wide eyes and muttered to herself, ticking off her fingers and the horror in her eyes grew. It'd take a couple weeks, maybe two weeks and a half, tops. He didn't know why she was panicking.

"B-But that would take about two weeks at most! That would mean I would be stuck with..." Tamura's eyes trailed towards the Taicho and winced when she saw him give her an annoyed glare. "Uh... Let's... go." She chuckled nervously and pointed in the direction they were going.

Kenpachi scowled as he walked by, ignoring her murmuring and deciding to just ignore her in general. It was silent when they went through the first and second district, and he was fine with it. The woman behind him, however, made a surprised noise and started muttering irritably. He heaved a big sigh and turned around to see her brushing some leaves off of her shihakusho. He furrowed his brows in confusion at the leaves. How the hell...? She looked up and paused when she saw his stare, flushing in embarrassment and wordlessly pointing towards the brush she had fell into.

Rolling his eyes, he huffed and went back to marching towards his destination. As long as they walked in this direction they should make it there. He frowned when the sun shined from the east, hitting his face directly. Thankfully his patch was blocking the sun, but that meant that it was about to get hot. And he sweat enough as it was.

Tamura stared at the Taicho's back, pursing her lips and looking to the sides. She's never been this close. Well, she _has_, but it was always... well, she usually ran away. It wasn't his face, don't get her wrong. She can recognize beauty and handsomeness, and Zaraki Taicho had this rugged handsomeness going on. It was just his... presence that unnerved her. Made her want to run or hit the thing scaring her. And she can't hit a Taicho, she might get thrown in jail.

She looked around their surroundings, a smile crossing her face when she stared at the trees, the grass, and even the bugs flying around. Though she almost yelped with a dragon fly flew too close for her liking. She missed this. Living in the Rukongai was... it was shit, to be honest, with trying to survive off of dirty water and rotten food, but she missed the wilderness. She slipped and stumbled, turning to glare at the rock that had been in her way. When she looked ahead she huffed when she saw that Zaraki Taicho drew farther away, so she started jogging after him. It was impolite to walk beside a Taicho, so she stayed right behind him... a meter back. She didn't want to be too close to him. He might snap at her, or something worse. Like... punch her.

Tamura winced and lowered her head. She had heard about his fight with Komamura Taicho, how he had kicked him and sent him flying into a wall. She didn't want to know what a punch would do. Except if it was against someone else, then hell yeah! A grin crossed her face. Hopefully they came across some bandits, or even a hollow, then she could see a Taicho in action.

They were quiet for most of the morning while they crossed districts to head for their destination. And she had to admit, they were making great progress. They crossed six districts in just the morning. A smile crossed her face. They should be back soon.

She froze and widened her eyes when she felt something staring at her and turned her head.

She gawked.

* * *

Komamura slammed his fist on his desk and glared angrily at the letter.

_Damn that man!_ He read the letter again, it was formal, and growled when he saw that Shuya had signed it and said she was sorry that she didn't have time to sign the paperwork. And it had a tiny heart at the bottom. He stared at it for a moment and huffed in amusement before anger overtook him again.

Zaraki! He tricked her! Komamura snarled and walked towards the door with the letter in hand. Shuya had wrote that they left early in the morning, and they probably left early so that Zaraki didn't have to deal with him. They were most likely too far to go after them. His subordinates bowed towards them as he marched past and walked outside to head for the first division.

If he knew Yamamoto Sensei then he would tell him to deal with it, _after_ they came back. And he was going to deal with it.

If Shuya came back with _one_ scratch on her, he was going to punch that infuriating man!

* * *

Tamura yelped and fell back, staring at the hollow with wide eyes. It was huge! It looked towards her, yellow, glowing eyes that made her grin nervously. She stood up and ran towards the tree, using shunpo to jump away when its large claw swiped at her.

She hit the ground and grunted, cursing quietly to herself and pausing when she heard a terrifying laugh. Pushing herself up, she turned in time to see Zaraki Taicho grab one of its legs and pull it away from her. She sighed in relief and just watched as... he just _played_ with it.

That's the only way she could describe it.

He had this big grin on his face as he avoided the swipes from the hollow, easily dodging its measly attacks as it roared and snarled at him. When it tried going for his face he only swung his sword once. All was silent before it split apart and started to disappear.

Tamura widened her eyes and gawked.

"_Wow!_" She whispered excitedly with a grin.

She was never on the front lines. And why should she? She wanted to live, after all. But since she was never in front of the battle she rarely saw a Taicho fight. And if she was seeing this right then Zaraki Taicho was had barely used his strength. The grin stayed on her face even when she stood up and brushed the dirt off of her. Tamura almost wanted to see him go all out. Except if he did that then she, along with anyone else in a fifty mile radius, would be knocked out.

Kenpachi swung his sword to get the blood off his weapon and smirked to himself. That was a small workout. Serves it right for assuming it could beat him. Now if they could only find a stronger one. He turned around and paused when he saw the navigator running towards him with a grin. He did the gentlemanly thing and waited for her, and snorted to himself. Yeah, sure, gentlemanly. It was mostly because she knew where to go.

When she reached him all she did was look around, stare at the sun for a second, and pointed which way to go.

Then they were on their way again, before that hollow suddenly sprang out of the trees and ran towards him. He probably wouldn't have spotted it, its reiatsu barely registered, before the woman gave a loud yelp and tried pulling out her zanpakuto. All he did was shove her in a direction, away from the hollow(this was his fight), and told her to go hide somewhere. She had glared at him indignantly before she did as he ordered and got farther away. He was about to fight it, but he guessed the hollow was being a little shit and decided to go after the weaker of the two.

It had been fun, though.

They were silent and he looked at the sun to guess it was about mid-day, so they still had a while to travel until they should stop for the night.

It was awkward, he wouldn't doubt that.

If he was with Yachiru, there'd be endless chatter and she would point in whatever direction she wanted him to go in. With this woman it was... quiet. Probably because she was scared, he wouldn't be surprised, but the quiet was different. He didn't have to deal with the quiet since before he found Yachiru. When he took care of her she would babble and laugh at anything he practically did.

Fuck.

A scowl crossed his face as he stared ahead.

He missed Yachiru.

So when the woman gave another loud yelp, he whipped around and looked up to see two, large hollows staring down at them. He blinked. Huh. How the fuck did they miss that? She stumbled back and hit his chest and hastily gave him a salute and ran away while yelling, "_Good luck, sir!_" and didn't look back. He stared after her flatly before he looked at the hollows and grinned. Well, he was already having fun on this mission. It would just be better with Yachiru.

And while he was fighting Tamura stared from behind a tree with a wide, awed grin.

Oh, she can admit that Zaraki Taicho was one scary fucker, and she smirked to herself, but when he was fighting he was awesome! The grin grew wider when he dispatched one of the hollows easily without much effort. Hah.

Taichos were awesome.

* * *

**And that's it for this chapter. OwO Kenpachi showing up in the latest chapter gave me inspiration. :D**

**March 17, 2016**


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